Tomorrowland
by lickitysplit
Summary: Elizabeth gets a job working at Walt Disney World, and on her first day is saved from disaster by a mysterious blonde-haired stranger. Will she find out who he is and what he really wants? A fluffy SDS/Disney modern-day AU, and a gift fic for Cerulean Grace! NOW COMPLETE!
1. You Must Be Elizabeth

**Summary:** Elizabeth gets a job working at Walt Disney World, and on her first day is saved from disaster by a mysterious blonde-haired stranger. Will she find out who he is and what he really wants? A SDS/Disney modern-day AU!

 **A/N:** Thank you so much for reading! This is a gift fic for my dear friend Cerulean Grace. She recently started her own adventure, and I've been fascinated listening to her talk about her experiences. Cerulean Grace, you are one of the best people I know, and I just pray that you like this story as much as I enjoyed dreaming it up. She is also a talented author, so if you have not checked out her work please go do so today!

This is a modern-day AU, something I have NEVER done before, so I'm nervous about this one! So please let me know what you think. I've taken quite a bit of creative license with the parks, how they operate, and the geography, so please forgive me for that. I'll be posting a new chapter on odd-numbered days, so please check back every other day for the next installment. I'm publishing the first two chapters now to get the ball rolling. Even though it's an AU, there are still moments of the anime/manga throughout the story, so see how many you can spot as you read.

I also must thank the incredibly gifted Vetur02 for designing the cover art. Please, do yourself a favor and check her out on Tumblr or Twitter. I am so grateful for your enthusiasm for this story and for sharing your gifts with me!

* * *

 **Chapter 1: You Must Be Elizabeth**

Elizabeth's heart fluttered as she looked up at the building that was to be her new home for the next eight months. The sun was shining brightly, the air warm, and she quickly shrugged off her sweater and tied it around her waist. She could not help the small smile that crept over her face that was interrupted with a shout behind her, "Elizabeth! Are you gonna help with these bags or what!"

"Yes! Sorry!" Quickly she hurried back to the taxi where her two sisters were loading their arms up with her suitcases as their father paid the driver. Margaret smiled warmly at her while Veronica huffed as she lifted a particularly stuffed duffle bag. "What did you pack in this thing?" she muttered, and Elizabeth blushed and caught the strap to sling it over her own shoulders.

"A little bit of everything," she answered. Once they all had the bags and cases under their arms, Elizabeth led them up the steps, using the keys she had been sent to open the front door. She checked the envelope they came in for the apartment number-2B-and then the girls took the stairs as their father waited for the elevator. "I wonder if your roommates will be here," Veronica said excitedly, but Elizabeth did not answer, her stomach doing a bit of a flip at the idea. Meeting new people always made the girl nervous.

Her door was the first on the right at the top of the stairs, and with slightly trembling fingers she opened the front door. For a moment she bit her lip, wondering if she should have knocked first; but there was no need, because when the door swung open it was deserted. They walked through the small living room to the kitchen and dining area, Veronica groaning as she dropped her bags on the carpet. "Hello?" Elizabeth called cautiously, but there was no answer.

"Do you know which room is yours, Ellie?" Margaret asked, and Elizabeth shook her head. Just past the kitchen, the hallway split into two bedrooms, each with a bathroom attached. The bedrooms were set up for two roommates, and when she peeked inside each, both already had one occupant, based on the bedding and the items in the room. But which girl was _she_ supposed to be with?

She dropped her things and walked back to the living room, where her father and Veronica sat together on the couch, her sister already making herself at home as she flipped through channels on the television. Margaret was in the kitchen unpacking a bag of groceries, so Elizabeth decided to join her. "I guess I'll just have to wait," Elizabeth said, opening a cabinet and sliding a box of cereal inside.

"That's no problem," Margaret said. "We aren't leaving until much later anyway. There's plenty to do to get you settled until then."

Elizabeth looked uneasily to the side, where her father and sister were laughing over a commercial. "I'm not sure dad _wants_ me to be settled so easily."

"Don't worry about him," the older girl reassured her. "Once the semester starts he'll have enough on his mind."

Elizabeth sighed and nodded. Her father was the president at Liones University, where Elizabeth had just completed her sophomore year. Margaret and Veronica had already graduated years before, and now she was supposed to round out the trio, his pride and joy, as he called it. Once Elizabeth declared her major, she would be on her way to getting her degree and either heading to graduate school, like Veronica, or into a prestigious internship, like Margaret. Everything was laid out carefully, perfectly, and all Elizabeth needed to do was follow the plan.

The only problem was… Elizabeth. She had no idea what to choose a major. She had no idea what she wanted to do or be or sell or create or anything. Her father had sent her to every career service and counselor to take every quiz and test out there, but to no avail. Nothing seemed to fit the girl perfectly, and with the deadline to declare rapidly approaching, Elizabeth began to panic.

Then Walt Disney World came to do recruiting on campus, and Elizabeth was immediately drawn to the idea of working there. Her father had balked of course-no daughter of his was taking an _entire semester_ off of college to sell Mickey Mouse balloons! But she pointed out all the classes she'd get to take, the money she'd save up, the connections she'd make, and slowly she won her father over.

Now, here she was, her own apartment, her own job, her own _life_. If only it wasn't all so nerve-wracking.

"It's so nice to meet you! And your family is so cute!" she squealed.

"Thanks," Elizabeth said, laughing. "I'm sorry, I don't-"

"Of course! I'm Diane. You're rooming with me." The girl grinned and looked around. "Did you find our room?"

"I wasn't sure which one," Elizabeth answered, but Diane was already walking, lifting all the bags up and carrying them on her shoulders.

"Damn she is strong," Veronica laughed, and Elizabeth smiled weakly and followed.

The rest of the afternoon was spent unpacking, hanging, folding, and moving everything into its place. Diane helped a great deal, chatting nonstop the entire time about training and the other people in the buildings and which bathrooms were the best. Margaret and Veronica seemed to be instant friends with her, but although she was very friendly and funny, Elizabeth was still very nervous.

Her father took them out for one last dinner, and Diane got an invite which of course she accepted. They found an Italian restaurant nearby, Elizabeth's favorite, and Diane asked them a million questions about their family, which luckily Margaret and Veronica and even Baltra were happy to answer. Elizabeth didn't say much of anything the entire night, until they were back at her apartment building, ready to say their goodbyes.

Veronica gave her a fierce hug, and Margaret kissed her cheek and promised to text her when their plane landed. Then Elizabeth had to face her father, and there was funny scratching in the back of her throat. But when she wrapped her arms around him, and he hugged her back, Elizabeth felt hot tears pricking her eyes and her lip beginning to tremble.

"You don't have to stay," Baltra whispered to her.

"Yes, I do," she answered, determined to sound firm.

He kissed her forehead. "All right then, but the second you want to come home, just call me. You can still register for classes without a penalty for at least a month."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, and he laughed. "I love you, Elizabeth. Take care now."

"I love you too, dad," she whispered. She stood on the step and watched them get back into a taxi, laughing when Veronica rolled down the window and screamed, "Bye Elizabeth! You'll do awesome!"

It was a long, slow walk back to her apartment, and she was still wiping her damp cheeks when she let herself into the front door. Diane was sprawled on the couch, watching _Entertainment Tonight_. "Hey, your family is great!" she proclaimed.

"Yeah, they are," she said softly, swallowing back a fresh round of tears.

Diane frowned. "Are you okay?"

Elizabeth started to say yes, but the second she opened her mouth, a sob escaped, followed by another, then another, until Diane was scrambling up to catch the bawling girl in a tight hug. Diane pulled her over to the kitchen and pushed her into a stool while grabbing a box of tissues. "I'm sorry," Elizabeth hiccuped. "I'm not usually like this."

"Hey, it's okay," Diane said, rubbing her back. "Everyone cries the first night. But don't worry, I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Diane," responded Elizabeth in a tiny voice.

The brunette winked and then stood back. "Now, this is going to be an important moment in our relationship. The thing that will determine if we are to be Disney sisters forever, or that girl I had to share space with but I can't remember her name."

"Uh, okay?" Elizabeth squeaked.

Gravely, Diane dropped her chin, her eyes serious on Elizabeth's widening ones. "Do you… want to… order pizza?"

Laughing, Elizabeth nodded. Diane slung an arm around her shoulders and said, "See? I knew I liked you."


	2. Are You Going to Make It?

**Chapter 2: Are You Going to Make It?**

The next morning, Elizabeth stood in front of her mirror, sighing. The park uniform wasn't _quite_ as flattering as she had hoped, the black slacks and button-down shirt leaving a lot to be desired. With a last check of her hair she grabbed her bag and walked out of the room, pausing to peek inside the other bedroom, whose door was open a crack.

The other roommate had not come home while Elizabeth was still awake, and over pizza Diane explained, "Merlin makes her own hours." But the bed didn't look slept in at all, so when she went to the kitchen to pour herself some coffee Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder. Diane wandered in a few minutes later still in her robe, so she asked, "Do you know whatever happened to Merlin?"

With a loud sigh Diane said, "I don't think she came home last night. That girl is gonna get herself written up for sure." Then she giggled and said, "Well I hope whatever she was doing was worth it. But don't worry about Merlin; no matter what she does, she always managed to somehow end up okay."

Elizabeth nodded and said, "Do you work today?"

"No, I'm off. Hey! We should go celebrate your first day today!"

"I don't know," answered Elizabeth skeptically. "I'll probably be tired, and have studying to do-"

"Which is exactly why you should come out and and least have dinner. You'll need your strength, and we can all help you study."

"We?" Elizabeth squeaked, and Diane continued, "Yeah, I'll get a group together. You're gonna want to meet everyone anyway. And you can meet my boyfriend too. I'm sure you'll like him."

She took a sip of her coffee to cover up her nervousness, and then Elizabeth noticed the time. "Oh! I gotta go!"

"Good luck!" Diane called after her as she quickly hurried out of the apartment. The shuttle stop was down the street a bit, and she jogged towards the small crowd she saw gathered, her silver hair swishing back and forth behind her.

A familiar jingle started from inside her purse, and without breaking stride Elizabeth fished out her cell phone, swiping it on and tucking it under her ear. "Hello?" she said breathlessly.

"Elizabeth? Is that you?" It was Margaret, her voice sounding annoyed. "Why are you out of breath?"

"Just in a rush," she said, hurrying past a group walking the other way.

"Late already?" There was a bit of laughter that made her blush, and then she said, "Listen, Ellie, I just wanted to let you know that we all got home okay. Our plane was terribly late, and we had to sit in the airport half the night."

Elizabeth frowned. "You did? That's terrible." She weaved in between two parked cars and hurried to cross the street after taking a quick glance around to make sure nothing was coming.

"Yeah, didn't you notice that I never called you last night?! Sheesh Elizabeth, we could have been dead!"

"No! I mean, yes, of course I noticed!" She could hear her sister getting frustrated on the phone, and Elizabeth tried to focus on appeasing the girl as she hopped off the next curb, the bus stop just on the other side. "It's just I-"

Suddenly there was a blaring noise, and Elizabeth swung her head around. A car was coming, fast, honking at her to get out of the way; but the noise and the confusion made her freeze in her tracks. She could hear Margaret shouting, "Elizabeth? What is that?" but it sounded so far away, and all Elizabeth could do was whimper as the headlights got closer and closer.

"Hey! Look out!" There was another voice then, a male voice, and suddenly Elizabeth's world went topsy turvy. She let out a small screech, and then the next thing she knew, she was bent over someone's arm, their grip tight on her back, and she was blinking up at the blue sky.

"Watch where you're going!" the voice shouted again, and Elizabeth quickly scrambled up with a gasp. "I'm so sorry!" she breathed. "Did I hurt you?"

He wasn't talking to her, she immediately saw; he was yelling at a car that was now speeding away. All at once Elizabeth realized how close she had been to getting hit, and that this man had saved her. With another stammered apology she turned to look up at her rescuer.

But instead of up, she had to look _down_ , at a young man with an absolute mess of blonde hair and big green eyes grinning up at her.

"You saved me!" she blurted out in surprise. "I'm so sorry!"

"Well I'm not sorry," he smiled.

Elizabeth blushed a bit at that, and hurried to say, "I was running for the shuttle, I didn't even see-oh-!" She squealed as something pinched her behind. When she became aware that his arm was still around her, his hand holding her steady on her feet with a firm hand on her rear, Elizabeth stepped back only to stumble again.

"Careful!" he said, catching her hand this time. He tilted his head and said, "Are you going to make it? Maybe I should-"

"Oh! It's here!" The shuttle bus had pulled up, and the crowd was quickly stepping inside. "Thanks again! Goodbye!"

Elizabeth took off again, making sure to look both ways this time. When she climbed into a seat, she finally sat back and breathed a sigh of relief… only to remember she still had no idea who had saved her. She bolted upright in her seat and looked out the window, but unfortunately, the young man was gone.

She thought about him the entire ride, but once she arrived at the training center, Elizabeth was busy signing in and getting her books and going over her list of classes for the day. When she finally found her room, she slid into a seat near the back, pulling out her things and laying them across the table. She started digging into her bag for her cell phone when someone pulled out the chair next to her. "Is anyone sitting here?"

Elizabeth looked up, brushing her silver hair back. "No, it's open," she said, and then blinked as a very tall and very handsome man sat down next to her. Her eyes went wide as she took in his broad form and his chiseled features, but what struck her the most was the silver hair that was in similar color of her own.

Realizing she was staring, Elizabeth quickly turned away and shuffled her papers, but out of the corner of her eye she saw the handsome stranger watching her. "Is today your first day too?" he finally asked.

"Y-yes," she answered back, not exactly sure why she was blushing.

"So's mine," he said, and then held out his hand. "My name is Estarossa."

"Elizabeth." She reached out her own, his hand strong as they shook. Then she narrowed her eyes a bit. "I'm sorry, you just seem… I'm not sure. Familiar somehow."

Estarossa grinned at her, and again she was struck with the idea she had seen it before. "Familiar, hm?" he teased. "I'm sure I would remember _you_ though."

She giggled nervously, not sure of what to say. "I do look a bit like my brother, though," Estarossa continued. "Maybe you've met him?"

"I haven't met anyone yet," she admitted.

"What an honor to be the first then," he chuckled. The instructor called for their attention, and Elizabeth was glad for the reprieve. His stare was intense, even with the easy smile on his face, and she felt better once it was off of her and focused towards the front of the room.

Policies, introductions, paperwork, more policies, more paperwork; by the time the first break came, Elizabeth's head was spinning. There seemed to be rules about everything: the right footwear, clocking in and clocking out, using transportation, uniforms. There were rules about where you could go in the parks and who you could talk to and what you could and couldn't do in the apartments. She had hoped her nerves would settle being able to dig her hands into some work, but with everything to remember her stomach was turning. It seemed like there were a hundred different ways to get in trouble here.

She reached inside her purse again and frowned. Where was her cell phone? Rustling around a bit more, she heard Estarossa say, "Everything all right?"

"I don't-" Elizabeth huffed and looked up. Estarossa held out a bottle of water that she took gratefully, and she said, "I can't seem to find my cell phone."

"Did you drop it?" he asked, tilting his head to look on the floor.

"No, I was talking to my sister and-oh no!" Her eyes went wide for a moment and then buried her face in her hand. "I bet that guy has it."

Estarossa laughed. "I thought you said you didn't meet anyone."

"No, no, I didn't meet him-he pulled me out of the way from a car." Then Elizabeth gasped. "He grabbed me, and I bet he took my cell phone then!"

"Any idea who it was?" asked Estarossa seriously. "You should let security know. I could go with you if you'd like."

The instructor was calling for attention so Elizabeth simply said, "No, I'll-I guess I'll try to find him later."


	3. You Never Know

**Chapter 3: You Never Know**

It was difficult to pay attention the rest of the day, angry with herself for making such a mistake on her first day. After the orientation meeting was finally over, Estarossa tried to speak to her again, but Elizabeth made an excuse and rushed out. She had an hour for lunch, so she used the opportunity to head over to the security office.

Inside she found two guards eating their own lunch, and one looked up and waved her over to the counter. "Can I help you?" he said.

"Hi. Yes." She read the name tag on the officer's shirt. "Officer Hendrickson. I'm new here-well, today is my first day actually. And I lost my cell phone."

"Lost your phone? Well no one's turned one in." He looked over his shoulder and said, "Dreyfus, anyone turn in a cell phone?" The other simply shook his head and mumbled around his sandwich, and Hendrickson shrugged. "Sorry. Do you want to leave your name or something in case one does?"

"Sure," she sighed, and the guard handed over a form. But then she noticed the time, so she folded it up and left to head to her next class.

The afternoon was regarding safety procedures. One film after another flashed by with evacuation routes for every disaster known to man short of an alien attack, and Elizabeth suspected they probably had a set of those somewhere too. By the time the afternoon was done, her eyes were blurry and her head was pounding, so she dragged herself back to the shuttle stop to head home.

She was both pleased and annoyed to see Estarossa standing there too. "Hey, I missed you," he said pleasantly, and Elizabeth made the effort to smile. "I had evacuations," she said. "How about you?"

"Harassment policies. It was pretty straightforward." His eyes looked over over before he continued, "Are you all right? Did you find your phone?"

"No," she sighed. "I guess I'm buying a new one, unless I run into that guy again."

Estarossa laughed. "I'll keep an eye out. What did he look like?"

"Umm," Elizabeth thought. "He was a bit short, blonde hair, green eyes." She was surprised to see one of his eyebrows peak a bit. "Do you know him?"

"Possibly." A look flashed over his face that Elizabeth could not decipher, but then he said, "There's my shuttle. I'll see you later, Elizabeth."

She nodded, watching him go. She had to admit it felt a little bit better having made a friend; at least she'd have someone to talk to at training. But Elizabeth realized she hadn't asked anything about him, where he was from or where he was working, being so distracted by the missing phone. Tomorrow, then, she decided. Her own shuttle arrived, and she spent the ride half wondering about Estarossa and keeping an eye out for her blonde rescuer.

Back in her apartment, Elizabeth practically fell face forward onto her bed. She had exactly ten seconds of peaceful bliss before Diane found her. "Come on! We're going out!" she said excitedly, bouncing on the bed.

"I just want to sleep," Elizabeth muttered into the pillow.

"No way," Diane laughed. "We should celebrate your first day. Get up and get changed."

Sighing, Elizabeth rolled over. "I'm not sure. I have a lot to study before my test-"

Looming over her in her line of vision, Diane gave her a piercing glare, hands on her hips. "I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Umm…" Quickly Elizabeth nodded, and Diane's expression went from a scowl to a smile. "Great! We'll leave when you're ready!"

A half hour later, Elizabeth was showered and changed and the girls headed outside. "Are we going to the park?" she asked.

Diane shook her head. "There's a cafe not far, with really good food. King's driving."

"King?" asked Elizabeth with a laugh.

"Yup! He's my boyfriend." Diane gave a wave over Elizabeth's shoulder. "There he is now!"

The ugliest green car Elizabeth had ever seen in her life pulled up, and excitedly Diane hurried down the steps. She pulled open the passenger door and slid inside, and as Elizabeth climbed in the backseat she saw Diane planting a smacking wet kiss on the cheek of the young man driving, which he was quick to swat away. "Do you have to do that?" he said, but very good-naturedly, and Diane stuck her tongue out at him.

"Elizabeth, this is King," she said, turning around. They exchanged hellos, and then Diane said, "Sitting next to you is his sister, Elaine."

The blonde girl next to her was very pretty, but probably one of the tiniest people she had ever seen. "Hi," Elizabeth said a bit shyly, but Elaine was quick to start chattering. "Hi! Don't mind my brother, he's such a dork. I'm so glad to meet you! Is it your first day? Where are you working?"

The car took off and Elizabeth said nervously, "Yes, today was my first day. I'm working in Tomorrowland."

"You are?" Diane squealed. "That's great! That's where me and King work too!"

"Ugh, not another one," Elaine laughed, rolling her eyes.

Elizabeth looked confused between them. "What is it?"

"People who work in different sections of the park don't really talk to one another," Diane explained.

"Why not?"

Diane shrugged. "It's not against the rules or anything, it's just that nobody does it. Everyone kind of sticks to their own."

"Except for Elaine here," King said with a laugh. "She does what she wants."

Elaine made a face at him through the rearview mirror as Elizabeth asked. "So where do you work?"

"I work in Fantasyland," the girl responded. "Which is the best part of the park."

"Oh please, Tomorrowland is much better!" King insisted. The three of them quickly started bantering back-and-forth, comparing different attractions, and Elizabeth listened curiously, wondering if the rivalry between the different themed sections was actually real or just for these two siblings.

She was grateful when they arrived at the cafe, and the four headed inside and got a table. Now that they were out of the car Elizabeth could appreciate just how young Elaine looked, but to be honest her brother was not that much better. He too looked just like a teenager, and only came up just past Diane's shoulder. But she had to admit they were cute together, even though every time Diane would snuggle up against his arm he would seem to blush furiously.

"How long have you been dating?" Elizabeth asked once they were settled.

"Forever," Elaine muttered, but King answered with a glare in her direction, "Two months."

"You guys look good together," she offered with a smile.

Diane laughed. "Don't we? As soon as I saw this guy I knew he was the one for me." King went red again, but he let Diane give him another kiss, which made Elizabeth chuckle in slight embarrassment herself.

"Ugh, ignore them," Elaine said from behind her menu. "Tell us about your first day."

"It was okay," Elizabeth said, taking a sip of water. "Except, before I even got on the shuttle I lost my cell phone."

"What?!" they all shouted, and then pressed for the story, so Elizabeth explained about her sister's call and her near-miss with the car and the blonde who pulled her away just in time. "By the time I got to class, it was gone, so I must have dropped it then," she concluded.

"I wonder who this guy is," Elaine said. "Do you think he stole it on purpose?"

"I hope not," said Diane. "This will be a great story to tell your grandkids about how you met."

Elizabeth was now really blushing, and the others laughed as she stammered a bit. "Relax, I was just teasing," Diane giggled. "But was he at least handsome?"

She thought back to the rescuer and said, "Honestly, I barely got a glance. All I remember is the blonde hair and green eyes."

"Well that should narrow it down at least," King offered.

"So how was the rest of the training?" asked Elaine.

The server arrived just then and took their orders before Elizabeth continued, "It was fine, just long." The others nodded, murmuring their agreement, and she said, "I met someone else too, who was also on their first day. His name was Estarossa."

She smiled thinking about him, and Diane said, "Uh oh, looks like the blonde mystery man might have a rival."

"What?" Elizabeth choked, but Elaine interrupted, "Wait, was he tall? I mean, really tall?"

"You think everyone is tall," King joked.

Elizabeth laughed. "Yeah, he was pretty tall."

Elaine snapped her fingers. "I knew it! He moved into the building across from mine. Oh, he's a pretty one, Elizabeth. Definitely go for him over the cellphone snatcher."

"I… I wasn't planning on really going after _anyone_ ," Elizabeth stammered. "I really just want to work and focus on myself for a bit."

"Yeah, but you never know when love is going to come along and hit you upside the head," Elaine told her.

"Maybe she already has a boyfriend, and she doesn't want you playing matchmaker," King said to his sister. "Did you ever think of that?"

"No, actually," replied Elaine. She turned and looked at Elizabeth. "Well, do you?"

"I… uh…"

"Okay, okay," Diane interrupted. "Lay off the girl for now. Elaine, tell us what happened on Dumbo today. I heard it was wild."

Elizabeth smiled gratefully at her friend, who gave her a wink, and she settled back in the booth to listen to Elaine's very entertaining but not quite completely believable retelling of a man who got his shirt stuck on the ride and had to be cut out of it. By the time their food arrived, everyone was laughing at the story, and to Elizabeth's relief, they seemed to forget their probing questions about her.

It was a really great time, but she was still happy to see her bed again later. King dropped them off, and Elizabeth headed inside as Diane said good night. It felt weird not to have her phone to call one of her sisters, but there was really nothing to be done about it now. She glanced in Merlin's door on the way to her bedroom, seeing it was still undisturbed, and Elizabeth wondered if she was ever going to show up.

Finally settled in her pajamas on her bed, Elizabeth opened her laptop and wrote a quick email:

 _Margaret,  
I'm fine, but I lost my cell phone. I won't have time to get a new one until this weekend. Let dad know so he doesn't worry. Talk to you soon._

 _Elizabeth_

She shut it down and slid under the covers just as Diane was coming into the room. Sleepily she laid back on her pillows and listened to Diane get changed as she excitedly chatted about their evening, and how cute King was, and how much fun she had. Elizabeth was almost asleep when she was jolted awake by a question: "So, do you have a boyfriend back home, Elizabeth?"

Her eyes snapped open, and then she gave a loud sigh. "I'm not sure, honestly. I was seeing someone, and I thought it was serious. He got pretty mad that I was leaving, though, so… we didn't talk before I left."

"Damn, that sucks," Diane said. She plopped on her bed and began to brush her hair. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah," Elizabeth said softly.

"So what did you think of King?" asked Diane abruptly. "Isn't he really cute?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "Yeah, he's uh…"

"I know he's short," Diane went on. "Everyone says that. But I don't really care that much." She tilted her head at Elizabeth thoughtfully. "What you may need is a fling of your own. Maybe we should find this blonde guy and see if _he's_ boyfriend material."

"Diane!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "He might have stolen my cellphone."

"Yeah, you're right." She tapped the brush on her chin thoughtfully. "How about this Estarossa guy? It sounded like you liked him. Elaine certainly does."

Elizabeth sighed. "I'm not sure really. I don't know if I want to date anyone."

"Fair enough," Diane said. "But is he more your type? Tall and handsome?" she teased.

At that Elizabeth giggled. "Well, I'm not into short guys, if that's what you're asking."

Both the girls laughed, and Diane turned off the light before they settled into bed. It took no time at all for Elizabeth to drift off, her mind thinking about Estarossa. She dreamt about him that night, but for some reason he had blonde hair and green eyes.


	4. Once I Finally Find This Guy

**Chapter 4: Once I Finally Find This Guy**

The next two weeks went by in a blur of classes, training, and more classes. Elizabeth had not even realized how much there was to simply know about the park and about her job. There were quizzes every day on the information, and failing just one put you in danger of being sent home, so her evenings were spent reviewing everything over and over again. Diane finally dragged her out one afternoon to go ride a few rides at the park, but Elizabeth was too nervous about her training to really enjoy any of it. Other than those few hours, she focused completely on her job.

Estarossa was there to keep her company during the classes, but the actual field training they were separated. He was stationed in Adventureland, so she saw him less often than she would have liked. But when the entire group was brought together, he always made sure to sit next to her, and even would bring her a coffee after learning that she liked two sugars and a splash of cream. It was fun to talk to him, and a bit flirty, so Elizabeth allowed herself to enjoy his company and tried not to feel any weirdness about it despite her love life being so up in the air.

Unfortunately for Elizabeth, she was stationed on Space Mountain, which she found to be the most daunting roles of all of the possible places to be assigned. There was even more to learn on this ride: how to greet guests, how to answer questions, how to supervise the line, how to get people on and off, how to do the safety checks… the list went on and on. She was partnered with another new employee named Gowther, who seemed fairly nice but was also a bit odd.

Gowther seemed very smart and super efficient, almost _too_ much so, and Elizabeth found herself scrambling to keep up with him. He mastered the safety checks in no time at all, while Elizabeth would still find her head spinning from all of the things to remember. Gowther enjoyed pointing out when she did something incorrectly, which quickly began to grate on her nerves. She was sure he was trying to be helpful, not arrogant, but between his corrections, her trainer watching closely, and having to keep a friendly demeanor at all times with the guests, it was wearing her a bit thin.

The day of her final assessment arrived, when Elizabeth had to do a full rotation of each position unassisted and show that she knew exactly what to do and answer questions regarding the full procedure. She was incredibly nervous, and she and Diane walked together to the underground tunnel that would take them to their destination. Diane was working the same shift that day, so at least they would have lunch together; it was a small comfort as Elizabeth's stomach was churning.

The underground tunnels connected at the entrance, and all employees intersected their on the way to their different positions. However, at the juncture the system split off into five different sections, each tunnel leading to a different part of the park. Employees were only allowed to access their own tunnel, and anyone caught in a part of the park they were not assigned to risked getting fired. Since Elizabeth and Diane worked in Tomorrowland, they were only allowed to access that tunnel, and as they walked through the entrance they headed straight there while Diane grilled her with questions.

"True or false," Diane said. "If you hear a code three on the radio, it means to standby for an evacuation."

"Umm…" The opening to the tunnels was milling with people as they hurried towards their shifts, and it was hard to concentrate with all the noise and the people moving everywhere. Elizabeth was lost in thought when she bumped into something, and as she muttered, "Excuse me," she heard a voice say, "Careful!"

It was so familiar it snapped her attention, and Elizabeth froze and whirled around. She heard Diane say her name, but her eyes roamed the throng of people surrounding her, looking for- _there_. A mess of blonde hair was disappearing on the other side of the room, and quickly she hurried forward, not wanting to lose sight of him.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" she called, going as fast as she could. The hair caught her eye again, and she pushed past a group of girls to take off at a sprint towards it. But suddenly a hand caught her arm and hauled her backwards. "Elizabeth! What are you doing?"

It was Diane, and the girl turned and said breathlessly, "Diane! It's him, the one who has my cellphone!"

"That guy? What?" She looked into the tunnel. "Where?"

"Down there!" Elizabeth tugged on her arm. "I know it's him, I recognized him!"

"Elizabeth," Diane laughed. "You can't go down there."

"What? Why?" Diane pointed up, and Elizabeth followed where her finger pointed; sure enough, the tunnel was marked to lead to Fantasyland, and they were definitely _not_ allowed to go that way.

Elizabeth sighed in frustration. "I know it was him. Maybe we can ask someone?"

"You need to get to your test," Diane said. "But at least we know he's an employee here. Maybe I'll ask Elaine to look around for him."

Reluctantly Elizabeth agreed, and the two girls hurried back in the direction of Tomorrowland. Unfortunately, seeing the would-be rescuer/cellphone thief completely threw her off, and as soon as her test began she made one silly mistake after another. On the first break, Elizabeth nervously sipped a bottle of water, and Gowther offered helpfully, "You seem to be having some problems today."

This was _not_ what she needed right now. "I'm just distracted I guess," she said, annoyed.

Elizabeth was determined not to let this get to her, and the rest of her morning began to improve. She started acing the rest of her assessment, and by the time lunch came, she was starting to feel a bit confident.

Diane waited for her at the employee cafeteria, and they sat together to eat. "How is it going?" Diane asked eagerly.

"It was rough this morning, but getting better," Elizabeth admitted. "I couldn't stop thinking about the guy I saw."

She nodded. "I'll call Elaine tonight about the blonde guy. We'll find him, don't worry." Elizabeth agreed and she went on, "There is a social tonight that housing is sponsoring. If he lives here too, we might see him there."

"Really?" The thought of going out after such a long day was not appealing at all to Elizabeth, but the possibility of finally putting this mystery to rest was quickly winning out. "Okay, let's go then. Once I finally find this guy, I can finally put him out of my mind."

The rest of the afternoon was long, but the work was steady and by the time her shift was done Elizabeth was feeling pretty sure of herself. The person running her assessment took her aside and said, "You had a rough start there, Elizabeth."

"I think I was just nervous," she responded, and the supervisor smiled. "That's understandable. But you did well overall, and I'm happy to say that you passed."

"I did?!" she squealed, clapping her hands. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Gowther passed too, which was not a surprise, but Elizabeth still flung her arms around him and hugged him in congratulations, which seemed to surprise the young man. "Are you coming to the social tonight, Gowther?" she asked excitedly as they walked together towards the tunnel.

"Social?" he asked. "What do you do at a social?"

Elizabeth laughed. "You know, just go hang out, have fun. We passed our tests, we should celebrate!" She caught sight of Diane waiting for her, so she said, "I'm going to look for you tonight, Gowther!" before hurrying over with a final wave to her partner.

The girls walked briskly down the tunnel, and when they reached the entrance where all of the routes converged she could not help her eyes wandering over to the one that led to Fantasyland. It was a long shot to see him again-after all, they had no idea what shift he was on, or what he even did there-but somehow she hoped she'd hear that voice again or see the top of his head again. But with no luck on that front she and Diane headed back to their apartment to get ready for the evening.


	5. Watch Out For Him Just The Same

**Chapter 5: Watch Out For Him Just The Same**

There were more people at the social than Elizabeth expected, seeing how it was sponsored by the housing department, but she supposed the idea of a free night out was appealing to the college-age crowd, as well as letting everyone get a look at the new class that had passed their tests that day. The weather was beautiful, so the event was on a large patio and lawn behind the administrative building. It wasn't incredibly fancy, but there was food and music and tons of people milling around talking and laughing and some dancing.

The sun hadn't yet set, so it was still fairly warm, and Elizabeth was glad she had gone with a sleeveless dress for the occasion. It certainly wasn't a formal thing, but she was too nervous to go in just shorts and a t-shirt like Diane. Almost immediately she spotted King when they arrived, and Diane dragged her over to where he was with Elaine and introduced her to his friend Helbram.

They chatted for a bit after everyone congratulated Elizabeth, and then she decided to go find something to drink. Truthfully she wanted to wander a bit and see if she couldn't find the blonde in the crowd, but Diane was so busy gushing at King she had forgotten that's why they were there in the first place. Elaine offered to go with her, but Elizabeth brushed her off, and so she went alone through the crowd, weaving through the couples and groups towards the drink table.

No one was looking familiar, and Elizabeth was even caught staring by a couple of people, so she decided to change tactics. But first she needed a water, so she stopped by the table to grab a bottle of water. When she got there, a familiar face turned and greeted her. "Elizabeth! I didn't know you were going to be here."

She looked up at Estarossa, who was looking very handsome in a polo and shorts, and she blinked in surprise. "Yes! I am! Here, I mean." Quickly she took a sip of water to hide her embarrassment. "I didn't know you were coming either."

"Got to make an appearance, right?" he laughed. They moved away from the table and stood together off to the side. "I assume you passed today?"

"Yes! Thanks for asking. And you too?" When he nodded, Elizabeth grinned. "I knew you'd do well. You've been confident since the first day."

"Confident, hm?" he laughed. "I suppose you could say that." There was a slightly awkward pause, and Elizabeth turned to scan the crowd again. "Are you looking for someone?" he asked.

The tone in his voice implied he was asking more than was obvious, but Elizabeth ignored it and shook her head. "Not really. My friends are around here somewhere, but I was hoping to… oh, nevermind."

"What is it?" he pressed, placing a hand on her arm.

She glanced at the arm briefly before explaining, "I keep running into someone. I don't know, it's weird, and I just wanted to talk to him for a minute."

"Does this have to do with the cellphone?" Estarossa asked.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "How did you know about that?"

Laughing, he said, "You told me when we first met, remember?"

Elizabeth blushed, feeling foolish. "Of course I do, I'm sorry. It's been… a strange day."

She asked him about his test, and the areas he was assigned, and Estarossa explained the attractions he had been trained to do. She was pleased to hear he found it just as complicated as she did, as she was beginning to wonder if she was the only one, the way Gowther had taken to everything so easily. They were laughing over some of the more obscure questions they had been asked-like, _What do you do if a guest lost only one shoe on the attraction?_ -when Elaine arrived to interrupt them. "Elizabeth!" she said, "we thought you had gotten lost!"

"No, Elaine, I was just talking to Estarossa here-"

"Oh, _this_ is Estarossa?" Elizabeth blushed furiously at her friend's tone, but the shorter girl held out her hand, which he took with a grin. "Elizabeth has told me all about you."

"She has, has she?" Estarossa laughed, and Elizabeth hissed, "No I haven't!"

"You were right, he _is_ really tall," Elaine said, practically leaning backwards to look up at him.

Estarossa gave one of his half smiles. "What else did she tell you about me."

"Nothing!" Elizabeth insisted. "Elaine, what do you want?"

The girl shrugged. "Just to see where you were. It's boring watching those two kissy face all the time." She smiled up at Estarossa and said, "I'd much rather hang out with you and your friend."

"We should probably get back," Elizabeth said, elbowing Elaine, who elbowed her right back. The two girls shot each other a look, but luckily Estarossa said, "I need to go anyway. I have an early shift tomorrow." He grinned at Elizabeth and asked, "Do you have your schedule yet? I wonder if we'll see each other again."

With another elbow to the ribs, Elizabeth rattled off her schedule for the next few days, and Estarossa nodded. "Yeah, it seems like we'll be in the park at the same time. Maybe we can have lunch together one day?"

"S-sure," she stammered. Elizabeth felt a bit of hesitation, although she had no idea why. He was nice enough, and certainly good-looking enough. Yet the way he smiled at her made Elizabeth feel like she could get wrapped up in him a bit too easily. But lunch wouldn't hurt, right? "Yeah, we can do that."

"Great." His hand, which was still on her arm, gave her a slight squeeze, and then he said goodbye to Elaine and headed off.

"Wow," Elaine breathed next to her. "You weren't kidding at all."

Elizabeth snorted and poked her, and both girls giggled. Then someone on the other side of her said, almost right into her ear, "Yeah, he's all right I guess, but you should watch out for him just the same."

She started in surprise, and looked over to see who said that. The voice was so familiar already that when her eyes landed on the guy next to her, it was no surprise to see the messy blonde hair on top, or the big green eyes smiling up at her.

"It's you!" she shouted, her mouth dropping open in surprise.

He looked around. "Who, me?" Then he gave her a huge smile and said, "Yeah, I suppose so."

"Who is who?" Elaine asked, and then she huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Wait, is this the blonde guy? The cellphone thief?"

"The what what?" he asked. "I'm not a cellphone thief." He looked up at Elizabeth. "Did _you_ tell her I was a cellphone thief?"

"No, I-I didn't-" Elizabeth shook her head, looking between the two of them for a moment. "I was looking for you," she said. "You saved me the other day. From getting hit by a car, remember?"

"Did I?" The boy-and he couldn't be much _more_ than a boy, truly, with his young features, although _young man_ was probably more appropriate-scratched his chin in thought. "I do save a lot of people though, so you'll have to be more specific."

Elizabeth sputtered as that was not what she expected him to say, but Elaine interjected, "Yeah, you pulled her out of the way of some speeding creep, and then you stole her cellphone."

"Cellphone? I don't even own a-ohh! Wait!" He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a white phone case. "Is this what you're talking about?"

"Yes! That's it!" Elizabeth said excitedly, taking the offered phone. "Thank you so much!"

"Wait," Elaine huffed, "don't go thanking him yet." She pointed an accusing finger at him and said, "You've had her phone for like two weeks, and never thought to return it?"

Folding his arms he answered, "How was I going to return it when I didn't know who it belonged to?" He smirked at Elaine's fuming expression, and then smiled back up at Elizabeth. "I did like looking at your photos though."

"You looked through my pictures?" she squealed, and Elaine fumed, "You are a creep! What is your name anyway?"

"Uh, gotta go," he said. Then he winked at Elizabeth and slipped between the girls, and as he squeezed through she thought for sure she felt a pinch on her hip, although she couldn't be sure. Then the blonde was gone, and Elaine whirled on her. "Can you believe that guy? What a jerk."

But Elizabeth was giggling, her hand covering her smile. "He was… interesting," she said.


	6. I Don't Know If I'd Get Involved

**Chapter 6: I Don't Know If I'd Get Involved**

Everyone was back at their apartment afterwards, sitting around the living room and chatting. Elizabeth excused herself for a minute to go put her purse away, and she took a moment to plug in the returned cell phone. After a few seconds the light turned on, and keeping it on the cord she turned it on.

She had gotten a new one a few days after losing it, but she was still glad to have it back. There were pictures and other things saved on it, and was anxious to see if everything was still there. The blonde had said he looked in her pictures, and she didn't know if she should believe him or not; but she quickly scrolled through anyway to see if there was anything embarrassing in there that she had forgotten about.

Nothing stuck out, except for a folder she didn't recognize. When she clicked on it, Elizabeth's jaw dropped to see dozens of pictures of the blonde in there: selfies of himself, pictures of him and others, pictures of him at the park, one in a mirror in his Fantasyland uniform. She giggled to herself as she scrolled through. In each one, he was smiling or making a face, and his friends seemed to be having fun posing for pictures too. Why would he do this if he was planning to return the phone to her?

Still laughing, she opened the call history to see if he had used her phone at all. But everything seemed to be erased. Frowning, she opened her contacts, and then for a second time, her mouth popped open in surprise. Every single one of her contacts had been erased, and now there was only one listed: Meliodas, followed by a local number.

Elizabeth scrambled off the bed and ran back to the living room. "Look at this!" she cried, thrusting the phone at Diane; Elaine, King, and Helbram crowded around her as she started looking through the pictures.

"I can't believe this creep!" Elaine exclaimed, but King said, "Wait a minute, I think I know this guy."

"You do?" Diane and Elizabeth said together.

"Yeah." He turned to Helbram and said, "Don't you remember in the fall, there were those guys doing pranks? One of them got sent home?"

"That's them?" his friend laughed. "I think you're right."

"They live right around here," King continued. "No wonder you ran into him. Is there a really tall guy he's friends with?"

"Looks like it," Elaine said, now scrolling through the photos again. "What's with you and tall guys?" she teased Elizabeth.

She took the phone back as she felt a bit of heat on her face. "Nothing with me and tall guys," she said. Opening up the contact list, she turned the screen around to show the others. "Is his name Meliodas?"

"Yeah, that's him all right," King laughed. "He started the same time I did. I don't know if I'd get involved with them."

Everyone was looking at her now, and Elizabeth blushed. "I really wasn't planning to _get involved_ ," she answered. "I just thought the pictures were funny."

Two days later, Diane was working a different shift, so Elizabeth headed down to the tunnels alone. She took her time moving through the entrance, looking around the route that led to Fantasyland, hoping to catch a glimpse of Meliodas as she did every time she headed to work. But instead, she ended up running into Estarossa.

"I was hoping to see you," he said warmly. "You haven't given me your number yet, so I didn't know how to get in touch with you."

"My number?" she said, surprised. "Oh, I…"

"It's no problem. You can give it to me at lunch. We are still meeting today, right?"

Elizabeth blinked up at him in surprise. "Sure," she choked out. "I guess I can meet you."

Estarossa flashed a smile. "Perfect. I'll see you then. Don't want to be late." He gave her a wink before turning and disappearing down the tunnel to Adventureland. She decided to hurry to her own position too, since it looked like Meliodas was not going to show.

It was an arduous morning, with lots of complaining guests and whiny children. The temperature had turned humid, a storm on the horizon, and it made everyone agitated. The ride broke down twice, the supervisor seemed mad at everyone, and by the time her lunch break came around, Elizabeth just wanted to find a hole to sleep in for the hour.

Instead, she headed out to the common area cafeteria to meet Estarossa. After all, she had promised. He was standing outside of building waiting for her when she arrived, and Elizabeth could not help but feel a bit better to see his smile so genuine as he greeted her. They found an empty table in the busy cafeteria, and even though Elizabeth had brought her own lunch, Estarossa still bought her a soda. Elizabeth wondered if this was more a _date_ than just a lunch, but although Estarossa was a perfect gentleman, he did not try anything.

She unloaded her morning as they ate, and he nodded in sympathy with her story. "It seems like everyone is nuts today," he agreed.

"I'm sorry, we've done nothing but talk about me," she said. "Where are you from?"

Estarossa smiled. "Nowhere you've heard of I'm sure, although we moved around a lot."

"Who is we?" she asked.

"My dad and two brothers," he answered.

Elizabeth chuckled. "How ironic! We are just my dad and two sisters." She flashed him a smile. "I don't suppose you're the youngest like me?"

"No," he replied. "I'm the middle, which I'm pretty sure is worse. My older brother actually works here, you know. That was how I got my in."

"Your in?" she asked, confused.

"Yeah," said Estarossa. "No one gets a job here without knowing someone. For example, who got you in?"

"No one," she answered firmly, uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. "I'm just applied and interviewed."

Estarossa snorted. "I'm not so sure about that. Maybe you didn't realize it. Is your dad someone important?"

Elizabeth shifted in her seat. "Not really," she answered, but her mind was turning. Is it possible her father did help her get this job? He certainly knew plenty of people, and she was sure the program would be happy to do the president a favor to allow them to continue to recruit on campus. But then why did he put up a protest about her coming? And what did this mean, if she really didn't do this on her own, like she had thought she did?

He was talking again, but Elizabeth interrupted him. "Sorry, I'll be right back. I need to go get more to drink." The truth was she really needed a break from his slightly overwhelming presence and to process his insinuations about getting her job. But Estarossa hopped up and said he'd be happy to, and when he was gone she sank down a bit in her seat, breathing a sigh of relief.

She pulled her phone out of her purse to check the time, when Estarossa slid back into the chair across from her. "That was fast," she said, trying not to sound disappointed.

But when she looked up, it was Meliodas sitting there, his chin propped in his hand, gazing at her with a smile. Elizabeth jumped in surprise, nearly dropping her phone with a little "oh!"

"Hey, Elizabeth," he said cheerily. "You don't mind if I call you Elizabeth, do you?"

"No, of course not," she said. What a question! "You're Meliodas, right?"

"Yes, I am," he answered mildly, "although I would prefer if you called me Sir."

"What?" she said, confused, but he did not offer any clarification. Instead he leaned forward and started picking through Estarossa's sandwich, pulling the bread off. He chose a slice of bacon right off the top and popped it into his mouth. "Even his sandwiches are better," he sighed.

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth cried out in shock.

Meliodas shrugged. "I was hungry. Hey, didn't you hear what I said last night?"

She shook her head, this conversation getting more confusing by the second. "You took pictures on my phone," she said. "And then you deleted all my contacts except you. Why?"

Meliodas looked thoughtfully for a moment. "Just in case you needed to get a hold of me, I guess. Say for instance, you need someone to eat lunch with. You could have called me."

Elizabeth looked at him in confusion. "Estarossa and I just saw each other this morning."

"Right." Meliodas took a bite of the bread and continued, "So did you hear what I said or not?"

"I… no?"

He swallowed. "I told you to watch out for him. I don't know why you would then _immediately_ go on a date with him-"

"It's not a date!"

"-But I _really_ think you should be more careful." He took a drink from Estarossa's soda and then left before she could finish her protest.

Elizabeth was still gaping at the empty chair when Estarossa came back. "What happened to my sandwich?" he said, and when he looked up at her in disgust, she burst out laughing.


	7. I Was Looking For You

**Chapter 7: I Was Looking For You**

Elizabeth had thought that finding the mystery blonde would satisfy her curiosity, but instead, her two interactions with him left her even more mystified. It was a matter of principle, she decided to find out who he was and what he wanted. After all, he had left his number on her phone for _some_ reason. Elizabeth was determined to figure out what. Besides, he was certainly the most interesting person she had met so far. Every time she saw him he was doing something unexpected.

For several days she went early or stayed late in the tunnels, hoping to run into him. She went to lunch in the common area too, but had no luck. Either he wasn't working, or he was avoiding her. She ran into Estarossa another time, and they shared another pleasant if not a bit awkward lunch. Despite how friendly he seemed, the strange warning hung in the back of her mind, and even though she knew Estarossa better than Meliodas, she couldn't help but feel cautious. But not being able to ask Meliodas more about it was driving her crazy, and finally she called Elaine and asked her to find out if he was still in Fantasyland.

The next day Elaine called her back as she was making lunch. "I got the scoop on your cellphone thief," she said. "It's not looking too pretty."

"What do you mean?" asked Elizabeth, sitting down heavily on a stool.

"First of all," Elaine began, "he _does_ work in Fantasyland, you're right about that. I asked around and it seems like everyone knows him. I actually heard of him too, I just never put it together. And not just in our part of the park… I have a friend in Frontierland too, and apparently they know him there. Same goes for the front gate people."

"Is that unusual?" Elizabeth asked.

"Remember what Diane said? People don't really make friends outside of their own section." Elaine laughed. "I kind of thought I was the only one."

Elizabeth frowned. "So what else?"

"Apparently he wasn't always in Fantasyland, either. He used to work in your section, and then got… transferred over." Elaine paused dramatically, and Elizabeth wondered if she should say something. But her friend cut her off before she could and cried, "Elizabeth! Do you have _any_ idea how rare that is? Once you're in a spot, that's it until your contract is up. _Nobody_ gets transferred around. It just doesn't happen."

"So what does that mean?"

Elaine huffed on the other end. "It means either he did something really, really wrong, or something really bad happened to him. There's a lot of rumors around about him, but there's no telling what the truth is." There was a pause before she asked, "He really ate that guy's sandwich?"

"Yes," replied Elizabeth, laughing despite herself. It wasn't funny, but she couldn't help the giggles that escaped her, especially when she pictured Estarossa's face.

She thanked her and hung up the phone, thoughtfully stirring her tea. There was only one way to get to the bottom of this, and that was to go right to the source. Quickly she finished up and got her things, heading down to catch the shuttle and go to the park. Elaine had told her he was working earlier shifts this week, so she figured she'd be able to catch him before he left for the day.

The park was unusually crowded for the middle of the week, and she weaved her way carefully through Cinderella's castle. Her eyes swept appreciatively over the murals painted on the walls as she hurried through, then began searching through Fantasyland for Meliodas. But after checking every ride, Elizabeth was stumped. So she began looking in the souvenir shops and the snack stands, and finally found him working behind the counter in Gaston's Tavern. He was just finishing up with a couple when she walked up, and instantly his eyes lit up and a smile broke across his face. "Elizabeth!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

His enthusiasm threw her off a bit, her hands twisting together as she approached. "I was looking for you," she admitted, immediately regretting blurting that out.

Meliodas smiled and leaned over the counter, propping himself up on his forearms. "You were, huh?" The way he looked at her made her mouth go a bit dry and her pulse speed up, and all she could do for a moment was stare back at him. "Hey Ban!" he suddenly shouted, turning to look over his shoulder. "I'm taking my break!"

"You already took your break!" a voice shouted from the back.

"I'm taking another!"

"No you're not!"

Meliodas rolled his eyes. "He is just impossible, sorry. Can I get you something? I'm a pretty good cook."

"No he's not!"

Waving his hand, he stood back up and gestured for Elizabeth to come closer. "Come on, I'll make you something."

"I really don't need-oh!" Elizabeth suddenly felt his hand on hers, and then he tugged her forward until she slid across the counter on her backside, finally landing on her feet next to him. "There we go!" he said. Still holding her hand, he led her towards the back, where a very tall and spiky-haired young man was chopping ingredients and wearing an apron. Her breath caught in surprise as she recognized him from the many pictures that had been left on her phone, often smiling or posing with Meliodas, the one other person who appeared in almost every one. It was obvious from the pictures that they were very good friends.

He looked up and spotted them, immediately pointing the knife straight at Meliodas. "Oh no no no," he said, shaking his head. "You are not coming back here. You are not allowed in this kitchen, I _told_ you-"

"Don't be ridiculous," Meliodas said, folding his arms. There were voices from the front, and he tilted his head to the side. "Cover the counter for a few minutes. I want to talk to Elizabeth."

His eyes darted over to her, and Elizabeth gave him a weak smile. "Your funeral," he shrugged, taking off the apron and tossing it at Meliodas. There was a voice that called, "Hello? Anyone back there?" and Ban shouted, "Yeah yeah, I'm coming," as he disappeared towards the front.

"I really don't need anything," Elizabeth said again as Meliodas slipped the apron on and tied the strings tightly. He didn't respond, instead pulling out a tray and setting it on the counter before opening the walk-in cooler. Returning with a cellophane package, he ripped it open and placed several defrosted cinnamon buns on the tray, then slid them into the oven on the wall. He tapped his finger on his chin for a moment before pressing several buttons, then turned around and wiped his hands on the apron. "There we are!" he said. "We'll have a snack in a few minutes. Now why were you looking for me?" His mouth turned up in a smile. "Did you hear how good I am at this?"

"No, actually," she answered with a bit of a frown. "I was wondering about the warning you gave me about Estarossa. Do you know him? What did you mean about me being careful?"

"Oh, _that_ ," he said slowly. "Huh." His mouth twisted up for a moment before he took a deep breath and said, "You see-"

"Captain!" Ban shouted. "Do you not see the order on the screen?"

"What?" he looked up, and when Elizabeth did too, sure enough there were three blinking orders on the monitor above. "Sure thing!" he called back. "Gimme a minute!"

Meliodas started bustling around the kitchen, grabbing bowls and plates, stacking things, running into the cooler and returning with a huge jar of mayonnaise. Elizabeth watched him for a minute before she asked, "What are you doing?"

He paused and said, "I'm filling the orders, of course."

Elizabeth pointed at the screen. "There are two vegetable cups and an order of hummus. No one asked for bowls of mayonnaise."

"Huh." He carried the jar back, and Elizabeth could not help but stifle a laugh behind her hand. Perhaps Ban was right about his lack of skill in the kitchen. If he couldn't get just the simplest order right…

He returned with the container of hummus under one arm and several more paper containers. Quickly he set them up, then took a spoon and dished out a large helping of hummus on each one. "There's only one order," she said delicately, and he shrugged. "So they get four. No big deal."

Meliodas grabbed a handful of the vegetables Ban had been chopping and began arranging them as stick figures in the plates full of hummus. "Can you grab some tomatoes?" he asked, and Elizabeth stepped into the cooler to retrieve a small crate of cherry tomatoes. Meliodas accepted it with a thank you and quickly stuck heads on the figures he had just created. Elizabeth tilted her head, looking at them curiously; some of the figures were in strange poses that almost looked indecent.

"Grab those will ya?" he asked, picking up two, and Elizabeth carried the others. They delivered the trays to the front counter, where Ban was watching with a scowl that was only matched by the customer waiting.

"What the hell is this?" Ban exclaimed, leaning right over Meliodas' head to examine the hummus and vegetable trays.

"Just giving the customer a little flair," answered Meliodas. He loaded the food onto a tray and handed it to the very confused-looking man. "Here you are sir, with a little extra for the delay. Enjoy your day!"

As the customer walked away, Ban yanked on the apron. "Give me this back. You are not screwing up my kitchen again."

"Your kitchen is _fine_ ," Meliodas said. "Besides, Elizabeth is helping me." He reached around and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her tightly up against his hip.

She gasped at his bold touch, her eyes widening as Ban peered down at her next. Meliodas grabbed her by the hips and pushed her back into the kitchen, calling over his shoulder, "We'll be ready for the next one!"

He deposited her by the prep counter before peering inside the oven, muttering to himself before pushing a few more buttons. Then Meliodas walked back to where Elizabeth waited, folding his arms in thought. "Okay," he said. "What were we talking about?"

"Estarossa," she answered with a laugh. "I was curious how you know him."

"Right," said Meliodas with a grin. "And I would love to tell you, right after I take care of these orders."

"What?" she said, looking up at the monitor; sure enough there were a half dozen orders flashing. Meliodas started hurrying through the kitchen again to gather up items. When he brought out the mayonnaise again, Elizabeth shouted, "Wait!" rushing forward to stop him.

Quickly she took charge, ordering him around to collect items and laying out containers. Even though she had never worked in a restaurant kitchen before, she figured it couldn't be _that_ difficult to get a few orders completed. Soon they were working smoothly together, Meliodas following her directions as they prepped and sent out one tray of food after another. More orders came in, and for the next fifteen minutes they were busy.

"You are amazing!" Meliodas gushed when things were quiet again. Elizabeth blushed, not knowing what to say. He linked his arm through hers and headed back out to the counter, where Ban eyed them suspiciously. "How did you do that?" he asked. He folded his arms as he leaned forward to glare at Meliodas, who shrugged. "How did we do what?"

"Get those orders out right," answered Ban. "You've never done that before." He turned and looked at Elizabeth. "Did you help him or something? There's no way he did that by himself."

Elizabeth shook her head, but before she could answer, Ban suddenly stood up straight. "What is that smell?" he shouted, storming to the back.

"The cinnamon buns!" Elizabeth yelped, and Meliodas looked up at her sheepishly, rubbing one hand against the back of his head. "Whoops, I guess I forgot about them."

There was a shout and a small crash, and then Elizabeth was yanked forward as Meliodas grabbed her hand and pulled her through the employee access door. "Everybody out!" he yelled as he pushed her through the restaurant. Several of the customers sitting looked up in confusion, and Meliodas stopped to put his hands on his hips, huffing in frustration, "Did you not hear me? Everybody out!"

Everyone looked around, unsure of what to do, and with a growl Meliodas walked over to the wall, heading for the fire alarm. He grabbed the lever and pulled, the building instantly filling with the blaring siren, the warning lights flashing harshly in the softly lit tavern. "There!" he shouted over the noise. "Now will you all get out?"

The patrons quickly scrambled for the exit, and Meliodas led Elizabeth outside, pulling her off to the side and away from the gathering crowd. "Sorry about all this," he said, smiling up at her.

"What just happened?" she said, unable to stop the laughter as she shook her head.

Meliodas just shrugged. He leaned a bit to the side to peer around her, and then made a face and said, "Listen, I gotta get back. Are you busy tonight? I want to take you out and thank you for your help back there."

"No, I-I'm off today, but you don't need to-"

"Great! I'll pick you up at seven." He gave her a wink and hurried around her, Elizabeth jumping as she felt a hand briefly on her behind. She whirled around, but he was disappearing back into the tavern, and as she stood in confusion she realized he never answered her question about Estarossa.


	8. Perfect Timing

**Chapter 8: Perfect Timing**

"Elizabeth!" Diane shrieked into the phone. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," she said, cradling the phone in her shoulder as she opened the refrigerator. "I mean, I can't go with him, can I? Should I?"

Diane huffed on the other end. "I mean, I wouldn't. Who knows what this guy is capable of?"

"He doesn't seem dangerous or anything. Just a bit unusual."

"Well make sure you keep your hand on your cellphone this time," Diane joked. "Do you want me to call King and have him go over there? My shift doesn't end until midnight."

"No, it's fine," Elizabeth said. "I'm just gonna see what he wants. I'll text you."

She hung up with her friend and checked the time. It was almost six. Not feeling particularly hungry, she grabbed a yogurt from the refrigerator and sat on the couch, flipping through the television stations without really watching anything.

Meliodas would be there in an hour… and did she want to even see him? He was entertaining, to say the least. And he did seem harmless, even if he was unconventional. What she really wanted to know was what he meant by his warning. How did he know Estarossa? Why would he tell her to be cautious? Not that Elizabeth really needed the warning; the truth was, after his comments about getting into the college program, she had been a bit offended and completely turned off by the insinuation. Estarossa was nice enough, she supposed, but there was no way she was going to get involved with someone so arrogant.

There was a sound inside the apartment, and Elizabeth bolted upright. Her eyes flew towards the bedroom. Diane was at work, and Merlin's door was shut again. Elizabeth had been living there for three weeks, and she had yet to meet her other roommate. Whenever she pressed Diane for an explanation, she would just roll her eyes and say that Merlin kept her own hours. But what did _that_ mean? It's not like they were allowed to sleep anywhere else- _No members of the opposite sex in apartments after midnight_ was one of the more obnoxious rules that could get them in trouble-but Merlin seemed to _never_ sleep there. Other than one time, when there were noises in the room as she was getting ready for work, had she heard any life in there; but when she peeked in on her way out, the room was again empty.

Elizabeth waited, wondering if she hoped it was Merlin, a robber, or a very big rat. Then the door opened, and out strode a tall, beautiful woman, with dark hair and wearing a very revealing dress. Elizabeth's mouth gaped open as she walked through the living room, the mysterious woman not even looking at her as she walked by. When she reached for the door handle, Elizabeth exclaimed, "Wait! Are you Merlin?"

The woman paused, then turned and looked at her with a half smile. Her eyes traveled up and down, examining Elizabeth closely, and her eyes widened at the attention. Then without a word she opened the door and walked out, closing it firmly behind her.

At 7:00 on the dot, the door buzzed. Elizabeth jumped from the couch and hurried over to the call box, pressing the button and saying, "Yes? Yes?"

"Hey Elizabeth!" a now familiar voice said. "Can I come up?"

"I'll just come down," she said, suddenly nervous. She released the button and paused to look in the mirror right by the front door. Since she had no idea what they would be doing, she had just put on white shorts and a tank top; Elizabeth tucked her hair behind her ear and grabbed her purse before heading out the door.

Meliodas was standing just outside the door, and Elizabeth erupted into giggles when she saw him. He was in jeans, but wearing a brightly colored t-shirt with all the Disney villains on it and a pair of Mickey Mouse ears on his head. "Hey there," he said with a grin, his eyes moving appreciatively up and down her form. "Ready to go?"

"Where are we going?" she said with a chuckle.

"To the park, of course!" he said, looking at her as if she was crazy. "Did you bring your employee badge?"

Elizabeth checked her purse and said, "Yes, I have it. But-"

"Perfect! Come on then." They started down the steps, but he paused at the bottom and said, "Oh, I almost forgot. You need this."

He extended his hand, and Elizabeth looked down to see a matching headband with Minnie Mouse ears on top. "Really?" she laughed, looking at him skeptically.

He shook the ears at her. "You need to get into the spirit here. Unless… you don't _like_ Minnie Mouse?"

With a half smile Elizabeth took the headband and placed it on her head. Then he took her hand and pulled her forward, walking them at a brisk pace towards the shuttle stop. "You still haven't told me where we're going," she said breathlessly when they got to the stop.

"Don't worry," replied Meliodas. "I have the whole thing planned out." He looked down the street as the bus came into view and grinned. "Perfect timing."

The ride to the Magic Kingdom was an interesting one. Meliodas pointed out all sorts of sights to her, but ones that were personal or strange: _See that mailbox? I got my arm stuck in there once_ , or, _Do you like ice cream? That place has the worst ice cream I ever had_. Elizabeth found herself stifling her laughter more than once, and then when the shuttle turned into the employee parking lot, Meliodas nearly bounced out of his seat. "We're here!" he exclaimed.

"How long have you been working here?" she asked as they climbed off.

Meliodas paused as he thought. "About four months, I think."

"And you're still this excited?" she laughed.

He shrugged. "It's the happiest place on Earth."

Elizabeth laughed again, and she let him hold her hand once more as he hurried them towards the entrance. They bypassed the line as he waved to the person at the ticket counter, who in turned waved back. "Are we allowed to just go in like this?" she asked.

"We're employees," he answered.

"Yeah, but I don't think we can just skip the line," Elizabeth pointed out.

At this Meliodas laughed. "Well then you're in for a pretty big surprise."

Elizabeth frowned. "But that is a rule, isn't it? Employees don't get special privileges in the park."

Meliodas did not answer, but just gave her a sly grin. Once they hit Main Street, he finally slowed their brisk pace, and they walked leisurely past the shops. "Do you want to get a haircut?" he asked her as they walked past the barbershop.

"No thanks," she laughed.

"Is there anything you do want?" he asked. "Popcorn? A hot dog? A stuffed Goofy."

"Not really," answered Elizabeth. "Should we go ride something?"

Meliodas gave her a huge grin. "Now you're talking. I know exactly what to hit first."

Still hand-in-hand, they weaved through the crowd and struck off towards Frontierland. Evening was approaching, but there were still plenty of people there, and as they headed towards Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the line seemed pretty long. Elizabeth turned to stand in line, but Meliodas kept walking, pulling her behind him. "Did you get a Fast Pass or something?" she laughed, but he did not answer.

"Hey Slader!" Meliodas said cheerily to the employee standing at the entrance.

"Meliodas," the man answered, his hands on his hips. His tone wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't exactly friendly either. "What are you doing here?"

He slipped an arm around Elizabeth's waist and pulled her up against him. "Just showing my friend Elizabeth around. We're gonna hop over, okay?"

"Hop over?" Elizabeth said in surprise, but Slader put up a hand. "Wait. Have you spoken to Merlin?"

"I told you I would tell you the second I get an answer," Meliodas replied, ignoring Elizabeth's gasp of surprise. "Now can we hop or not?"

Slader narrowed his eyes at Meliodas, and then turned and looked at Elizabeth. "Watch out for this one. He can be pretty insensitive."

Elizabeth blinked up in surprise at him, but Meliodas just laughed. "Slader, you kidder! Let's go have a drink sometime!" With that, he hopped over the wooden post that served as the fence around the ride, Slader turning around as if not seeing them. "Come on, Elizabeth!"

"What are you-?" she stammered, gaping at Meliodas. He leaned on the post and raised his eyebrows. "This is the fastest way. Are you coming or not?"

She hesitated, unsure of what to do. Meliodas was breaking at least half a dozen rules! _Employees may not allow anyone, including other employees, bypass lines when visiting the park_ was a strict rule; not to mention _Employees may not receive extra perks within the park_ and _Employees may not go backstage on attractions they have not had training_ , among others. With a quick glance at Slader, who gave her a little nudge, Elizabeth delicately slid between the wooden planks that crossed between posts, careful not to get herself dirty. Once she was through, Meliodas pulled her forward, stepping carefully through the brush and towards the ramp where the Fast Pass line joined the main line. "See? Much faster!" he huffed a bit.

When they finished crossing, they crouched down together behind a fake cactus. "Now what?" she asked, her nerves making her tremble.

"Just one second," he whispered back. They waited another moment, and then the sound of explosives went off, and the crowd turned to look at a spray of water that blasted on the other side. People were laughing and clapping at the surprise, and while their backs were turned Meliodas grabbed Elizabeth's hand and hauled her under the fence, landing perfectly in line before anyone noticed.

"You are crazy!" she laughed as the line moved. They were next to get on the train, and Meliodas greeted another employee as they waited for the next car.

The ride was fun, and Elizabeth clung to Meliodas and screamed as they whipped around the corners. Meliodas screamed too, but held his hands up as they went down the hill, and by the time coaster returned to the station she was laughing and just a tiny bit weak in the knees. Meliodas helped her out of the car with a firm hand on her rear end, which made Elizabeth blush furiously. But he was already pulling her to the exit, saying, "We're due at the Pirates of the Caribbean in seven minutes!"

"What do you mean?" she asked, but Meliodas shouted, "Let's go!"

They raced through the street, and Elizabeth was amazed that he seemed to know exactly where to go, what shop to step into, what paths to avoid. They made it to the ride a few minutes later, both of them breathless as they joined the end of the line. "No climbing over fences this time?" Elizabeth teased as she caught her breath.

Meliodas laughed, panting, "Not this time!"

Suddenly there was an explosion of fanfare, and pirates came streaming from the attraction, shouting at the excited guests in line. Elizabeth watched in amusement for a moment, until she realized they were heading straight for _her_. "Meliodas?" she asked nervously as the largest and most alarming of the group stepped up, the hook over his hand pointed at her.

"You there!" he shouted, and her eyes went wide. "Me?" she squeaked.

"Yes, you!" the pirate yelled, and the others roared in agreement. "It's your turn to walk the plank!"

Elizabeth bit her lip, wondering if this had something to do with them sneaking onto the last ride… but then she heard Meliodas giggling next to her. She looked down and whispered, "Did you do this?"

"Nope," he said. "You must have pissed off those pirates." Grinning up at her, he said, "You had better go with them."

"Go with them!" Before she could finish her protest, fake shackles were put on her wrists, and one drew a sword and pointed it at Meliodas. "Bring along her little friend too!" one shouted.

"Little!" Meliodas shouted back indignantly. Elizabeth followed along obediently, blushing a bit as the guests in line cheered and snapped photos. Meliodas continued to smile broadly and wave at everyone, and the pirates hurried them through the line, shouting, "Out of our way!" and "Time for the plank!" and "Watch out or you'll be next!" People laughed and took more pictures, and a few minutes later, Elizabeth and Meliodas were deposited right at the front of the line.

"This way," an employee said, and ushered the two of them into the last row of a boat, which moments later began to coast through the ride.

"How are you doing all of this?" Elizabeth laughed, peering at him through the dark.

Meliodas sat back, placing his hands behind his head and his feet up on the seat in front of him. "I don't know what you mean," he answered, sliding one arm around her back.


	9. The Royal Treatment

**Chapter 9: The Royal Treatment**

After the ride, the couple stopped to get a snack. Elizabeth tried to pay for her own hot dog, but Meliodas insisted on getting them. She thanked him sweetly, and Meliodas even bought her a water, although he kept sneaking sips when he thought she wasn't looking. It was getting more humid despite the sun going down, the clouds overhead trapping the heat, so they slowly strolled together by the statue of Walt Disney. "The parade is in ten minutes," Meliodas said, nodding towards the groups gathering on the sidewalk. "I know a great place to watch."

"I'm sure you do," she giggled. "But it seems like it's getting crowded. Maybe we should do one more ride?"

"Great idea! And I know just the one." They headed towards the castle, and Meliodas was all smiles as they entered Fantasyland. "This is my home turf," he said, "so things should be fairly easy from here."

Elizabeth's eyes widened at the idea, and she followed him to the carousel. "I haven't ridden one of these in ages," she laughed as they approached.

"Good," he said, threading his hand with hers. Elizabeth was getting used to his affectionate treatment of her, nor was she surprised when they bypassed the line entrance. They walked around to the back exit, where a tall man with light hair was lounging against the fence, his long legs stretched out in front of him. "Escanor!" Meliodas called, and he looked over his shoulder.

"Captain!" He jumped up, and Meliodas hurried over, the two beginning an elaborate handshake that left Elizabeth completely confused. "A friend of yours?" she asked as the two tapped elbows. She recognized him as another one from the pictures on her phone, and she could not help the laughter that bubbled out.

"Elizabeth, this is Escanor." The handshake ended with a twist of their pinkies, and then he smiled up at her. "You're about to get the royal treatment."

"It's really okay," she said sheepishly. "The line's not even that long."

Neither of them answered, and Escanor waved a hand at them to follow. The ride was coming to a halt, and the riders began to disembark, walking in pairs and groups to the exit. Escanor closed the gate behind them, and then he spoke into his headset, "Hold the line, we have a VIP boarding first."

"Oh no," Elizabeth muttered. She glanced over at Meliodas, and when he looked back he quickly snatched the mouse ears from her head. "Stand up a little straighter, okay?" he said, pulling off his own.

"Why?" she laughed, and then Escanor opened the gate. Meliodas pushed her inside, and they followed him around the side of the carousel. "Hang on," Escanor said, and continued walking towards the entrance.

"What's going on?" she heard someone yell. "Is the ride broken?"

"Sorry everyone," Escanor said, holding up his hands. There was another employee standing at the entrance who peered around him, and then gave a snort and shook his head.

"What's happening?" Elizabeth whispered to Meliodas.

She felt his hand slide along the back of her thigh, the sensation making her jump. "A little straighter," he answered.

"We have a VIP riding first," Escanor told the crowd. "It'll just be a few minutes."

"A VIP?" one of the guests echoed, and people were craning their necks around to see. "Is it a celebrity?"

Elizabeth blushed furiously, scared suddenly that the game would be up. But Escanor folded his arms and said, "Hey! Did I say you could take pictures?"

"That's nobody famous!" yelled a guest, and another shouted, "This isn't fair!"

"Listen up," Escanor said to the crowd. "This girl here is the princess of Edinburgh, and she is a VIP priority. So if you want to ride this ride with her, then you'll need to speak to the Secret Service. Anyone here want to talk to the Secret Service?" There was a moment of silence, and then Escanor snorted, "I thought so. Now everyone just settle down, this will only be a couple of minutes."

He looked over his shoulder at them and jerked his chin. Meliodas grabbed her by the hand and hauled her up onto the carousel. "Get a horse on the inside so they can't see you," he said, and they quickly scrambled up on two horses.

The ride started, and Meliodas gave a cheer that sent Elizabeth into a fit of giggles again. The entire experience of coming to the park with him had been nothing at all what she had expected, and the thrill of breaking the rules to get onto the rides mixed with the sensation of the wind in her hair and the fast up-and-down movements of the horse. She was rather breathless when the ride came to a stop, her cheeks pink and slightly wind-blown, and Meliodas helped her down again before they headed for the exit.

"Thanks, Escanor," Meliodas said, and they fist-bumped on the way out.

"Yup," he answered. "Are you coming to the tavern tonight?"

Meliodas shrugged. "Maybe. If Elizabeth wants to go."

Both sets of eyes turned to her, and Elizabeth pressed her lips together. "I… I'm not sure. It's getting late."

"There you have it." With a final wave they set off, Meliodas strolling with his hands behind his head, Elizabeth still catching her breath from the excitement of what they had just done.

"You were pretty believable as a princess, you know," Meliodas said to her when they reached Main Street.

Elizabeth just laughed and shook her head. "Is this how you always go to the park?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, frowning.

"This!" she exclaimed throwing up her hands. "You got us into every ride. You seem to know everyone here."

Meliodas shrugged. "I've been here a while, I know my way around."

"That doesn't explain how you timed the shuttle, or the pirates. And all the risks the others take to sneak you in?" Elizabeth paused and looked at him closely. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Who am I? That's a loaded question." He looked up at her out of one eye. "Can you be more specific?"

"Why did Slader say you were insensitive?" she asked, hoping to catch him off-guard.

Unfortunately, Meliodas answered easily, "I do things my own way. I'm not that great with taking orders."

Elizabeth laughed. "You don't say."

They weaved around the crowd and onto the sidewalk as Meliodas continued, "Yeah, I've always been like that. My dad says it's the demon in me."

"Well my name means _goddess_ , so we're evenly matched," she teased.

He raised his eyebrows at her in surprise. "You don't say! That works out well then. Hey, did you want a shirt or something?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Why did you warn me away from Estarossa?" She sucked in a breath the second the question was out. The truth was, she had been having such a good time that Estarossa had never even crossed her mind; now she regretted bringing him up at all.

For the first time all evening, Meliodas went quiet, and Elizabeth could feel that he was suddenly unsettled. "He's not a _bad_ guy necessarily," he answered finally. "His priorities are sometimes a little off though."

Elizabeth frowned. She was about to ask him what he meant, but Meliodas interrupted, "Here we are at the beginning again! Do you want to ride the Monorail?"

She looked up to see the entrance straight ahead and shook her head. "I'm pretty tired, and it looks like it's going to rain. We should probably head back."

"Sure thing." He sounded a bit disappointed, and honestly Elizabeth was too; but the entire adventure had been a lot to process, and now with his cryptic explanations all she wanted to do was lay on her bed and _think_. They walked towards the shuttle stop in silence, and Elizabeth noticed that this time, he did not take her hand.

By the time the shuttle pulled up at their stop, Elizabeth was yawning. She told him he didn't need to take her back to her building, but Meliodas insisted, so once again they walked together in silence. She started to get nervous as they approached her apartment, wondering what he wanted. Would he want a kiss? Were they just friends? Would he want to see her again? Did she even want to see him?

They paused at the bottom of her steps, and looked at one another for a long moment. "I had a lot of fun today," she said quietly.

"Me too," he answered, the corner of his mouth twitching up a bit. "Hey, Elizabeth-"

"Yes!" she answered, and when his eyebrows raised up, she stammered, "I mean-what were you going to say?"

Meliodas chuckled. "Nothing important. What did you think I was going to say?"

Elizabeth blushed a bit. "I don't know."

He nodded, that half-smile still on his face. "Well, see ya," he said, turning to hop back down the step with his hands in his pockets.

Elizabeth watched him go for a long moment, and then turned and climbed the steps. She had thought for sure he was going to ask to see her again, ask for her number, _something_ … but at least that answered that question. She raised a hand to comb through her hair and realized she was still wearing the mouse headband. "Meliodas!" she called. "Wait a second!"

She turned and hopped down two steps as he turned, and she reached out to return the ears to him. He opened his mouth and said, "Just keep them," but somehow she tipped forward a bit too much, losing her balance for a moment.

"Careful there!" he shouted, in front of her in a second; Elizabeth gasped when she realized he had caught her again and saved her from certain injury again, only this time, he had a strong grip on her thighs now wrapped around him and his head was positioned to be buried straight into her chest. He peered up at her from her cleavage and said, "I'm starting to think you keep doing this on purpose."

"I'm not! I'm sorry!" she sputtered. Meliodas slowly let her down, his hands sliding leisurely along her thighs and roaming over her backside, his face staying squarely against her chest. Elizabeth's hands were on his shoulders, and she shivered for a moment to think how strong he must be to lift her so easily. Again, she could not help but wonder who he was and how all this happened, and as Elizabeth gazed back at him, she thought it would be very easy to like this boy, and that if he kissed her, she would let him.

But instead of kissing her, he eased back after a last squeeze of her body. "I'll catch you later," he said, laughing at his own joke, and then he was heading back down the street, disappearing into the night.

It wasn't midnight yet, so the apartment was empty. Elizabeth quickly showered and got ready for bed, and noticed the light flashing on her phone indicating there was a message. She swiped it on and a text popped up from an unknown number: _Did you make it up the stairs okay?_

Laughing, Elizabeth texted back: _How did you get this number?_

Less than a half minute later came the response: _I have my ways. Goodnight._


	10. I Don't Think He's Interested

**Chapter 10: I Don't Think He's Interested**

For the next couple of weeks, Meliodas would pop up in her life unexpectedly: sometimes on the shuttle bus, sometimes at lunch, occasionally in line for Space Mountain. Each time would make her heart skip a beat, as she never knew quite what he was up to, whether he just wanted to chat or he brought her something or had an anecdote to share. She was getting used to seeing him when she least expected, but he never asked her out again, which Elizabeth found rather disappointing.

She would have been convinced that he only wanted to be friends, since nothing he did had any blatant romantic overtones; except for the fact that he texted her every night. No matter what time she was heading to bed, inevitably the light would go off on her phone indicating there was a message, even on the rare day when she didn't see him at all. He asked her about her family and her hometown and what kind of flowers she liked and whether she preferred Italian or Mexican. None of their conversations, long or short, deep or superficial, ever actually _led_ anywhere though. But it was still fun to chat with him, and soon she felt as though Meliodas was one of her closest friends.

"Why don't you just ask _him_ out?" Diane asked one night as Elizabeth sighed and turned off her phone, their evening conversation having come to an end.

"I don't think he's interested," Elizabeth said shyly.

Diane laughed. "He surprises you throughout the day and texts you all night. Yeah, probably not interested."

On the other side of things, Estarossa had stepped up his pursuit, even asking her to dinner. Luckily she had to work, grateful for the excuse to say no. Part of her wanted to see what it would be like to go out with him; after all, he _was_ very handsome and, unlike Meliodas, she was without a doubt sure he was interested. But Meliodas' warning hung in the back of her mind, both keeping her back while at the same time teasing her with the mystery of it all.

Elizabeth had the day off, so she decided to catch up on some errands that needed her attention. The first order of business was laundry, so she loaded up her clothes in a huge laundry bag and lugged it down the stairs. Elaine had borrowed King's car to drive them, even though it was only a few blocks away. "It was really nice of your brother to let us take the car," Elizabeth said when she slid into the front seat.

"What King doesn't know won't hurt him," Elaine laughed, speeding away towards the laundromat.

The girls carried their things inside and quickly got sorting. Once their things were loaded up into the machines, they sat on benches off to the side, and Elaine immediately said, "Fill me in on the latest with your two boyfriends."

Elizabeth blushed. "I don't have any boyfriends," she laughed. "One isn't interested and the other is too interested."

Elaine snorted. "There's no such thing as _too_ interested."

Sighing, Elizabeth responded, "When it comes to Estarossa, there might be."

Elaine pulled her knees up, propping her chin on the top. "You're so lucky. I can't even get one guy to ask me out, and you've got two fighting for you."

"They aren't fighting-" Elizabeth began, but then Elaine interrupted, "You need to turn around and see this guy that just walked in."

Elizabeth started to turn around when Elaine hissed, "Slower!" So she _slowly_ turned to look, and saw it was Meliodas' friend from Gaston's Tavern. "I know him," she laughed, turning back to Elaine, and her friend practically sprung forward and said, "You have to introduce me to him."

"He's not my friend," Elizabeth told her. "He is friends with Meliodas."

"I don't care if he's friends with the king of demons, I want to meet him!" Elaine cried. Then she said, very loudly, "Elizabeth! Look, isn't that your friend over there?"

Elizabeth tried to shush her, but sure enough, Ban strode over. She looked up as he stood next to them, his arms folded and a smirk on his face. "Um, hi? Do you remember me, I'm Melio-"

"Yeah, I remember you, princess," he laughed. His eyes darted over to Elaine and said, "Who's the pixie?"

"Hey!" shouted Elaine as she scrambled to her feet. "Don't call me a pixie."

Ban looked down at the girl, who barely made it past his elbow. "Yeah okay," he laughed, and Elizabeth could practically see her fuming. "What are you, her kid or something?"

"I'm not a kid either!" Elaine shot back. "And it's Elaine."

"Yeah yeah," he said, waving her off. Then he turned to Elizabeth and said, "What's going on with you anyway? Why did you turn down the Captain? I've never seen him so twisted up over a girl before."

Elizabeth made an incomprehensible sound as she turned a bright shade of red, but Elaine piped in, "What are you talking about? He stole her cellphone and then tried to get her fired!"

"He did not," Ban laughed. "He took her on a date and then she rejected him."

"I didn't reject him," Elizabeth said in a choking voice, but the other two were too busy arguing with one another to notice. "Some date! He snuck her around behind three rides!" Elaine exclaimed.

Ban snorted. "So what, the princess has to have champagne and caviar for it to count?"

"You take that back!" Elaine yelled, pointing her finger up at Ban.

He looked at Elizabeth and made a face. "This one is too much for me." Elaine looked a bit pleased with herself and Ban went on, "You should come to the tavern tonight, he's bartending. It's the least you can do to make up for stomping on the guy."

"She didn't stomp on him!" Elaine yelled.

"The tavern?" Elizabeth asked. "The one you guys work at in the park?"

"No, no," answered Ban as he shook his head. "We work at a real bar during our days off."

Elaine asked what the bar was called, and Ban told her to butt out, which sparked another squabble; but as they went back and forth Elizabeth thought, _he's a bartender too_? One of the rules was that _Employees may not hold any other employment outside of the company_ , but of course, Meliodas himself said that he did things his own way.

"I'm not sure if I can," she said, interrupting the argument. "I'm not twenty-one yet."

"Oh don't worry about that," he laughed. "I'm the bouncer." He peeked over at Elaine and said with a wink, "Bring your friend too." Then without another word, he turned and went back to the other side of the laundromat, pulling clothes into a machine. The two girls watched him in silence as he measured soap and started the cycle. Then he stretched his long frame over a bench and promptly fell asleep.

Elaine giggled behind her hand. "I like him. Let's go to that tavern tonight."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I thought you wanted me to stay away from Meliodas? You said he was a cellphone stealing creep."

"Yeah but that was before I knew he had such a good-looking friend," she answered dreamily.


	11. You're Not Like Anyone I've Ever Met

**Chapter 11: You're Not Like Anyone I've Ever Met**

"Are you sure this is the place?" King asked.

Elizabeth checked her text message again and nodded. The tavern wasn't much more than a hole in the wall, really, tucked in among some darkened stores which looked half-abandoned. The sign above the door was in the shape of a large round pig, with Boar Hat carved into the side. "What a weird place," Diane commented, and she nodded.

"Well come on," Elaine said, the only one of the group who was excited. Once they had gotten back to the apartment, Diane was home, and when Elaine excitedly filled her in on the invitation, she had insisted on going along too and bringing King for good measure. "After all," she had laughed, "one's a thief and the other's a liar. I'm not letting you go meet them without backup."

"Well, if that's the worst of their sins, I'm fine with it," Elaine had joked, but Diane still wanted to go, so the four had set off around nine.

Elaine opened the door to the bar and they were immediately greeted to Ban's tall frame. "You actually came," he snorted, and stepped to the side to let them in. Elaine flashed him up a smile, and Ban said slyly, "I'll buy you a drink later."

The way Elaine giggled made Diane and Elizabeth exchange a glance as Ban turned his attention back to her. "I didn't tell the Captain you were coming," he said sternly. "So if you're not going to be nice, then don't bother going in."

"Hey!" Diane snapped. "Don't be rude!" But Elizabeth ushered them inside, insisting it was fine.

The main room was filled with tables and stools, and the group picked one by the window to sit down. However, Elizabeth immediately spied Meliodas behind the bar, and she stood frozen for a moment watching him. He was always so light-hearted when they were together, his smiles and his jokes and his teasing easy, always surprising her with what he was going to say or do. But now he looked focused, serious, and she felt like she was seeing a whole new side of him.

Slowly she approached the bar, her eyes on Meliodas as he served two customers. She slid into a barstool and waited, and when he finally turned around he actually did a double-take. "Elizabeth!" he cried, quickly hurrying over. "What are you doing here? Are you all right?"

"Yes," she laughed. "We ran into Ban earlier and he invited us. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind," he said, leaning over the bar. "Who is we?" Elizabeth pointed to her table of friends, and he gave them a friendly wave. "I'm glad to see you," he said earnestly, and the way he looked at her, she could tell he really meant it.

"You are?" she whispered, leaning forward herself, until they were only inches away.

"Yeah," he answered, his voice low and quiet. He swallowed as his eyes searched her face, and then he drew a deep breath and said, "Elizabeth, I need to ask you something."

Her eyebrows went up in surprise. "O-okay. What is it?"

Her heart was pounding as he gave her one of his sly smiles, his arms crossed on the bar as he tilted towards her. "I am really, really short staffed tonight. Would you mind waiting on a few tables?"

"What?" she exclaimed, pulling back in surprise.

"Please?" Meliodas pleaded. "It's easy. You can keep all the tips. I just need a hand for a couple of hours."

"Uh, sure," she said, sliding off of the stool. "You know, I've never done this before."

Meliodas waved a hand around in dismissal. "It's easy. Plus, you're gorgeous, so no one will mind if you mess up. In fact, you should try to mess up a bit, people always leave pity tips."

Elizabeth choked in surprise, and before she knew it she had an apron tied around her waist, a notebook in one hand and a tray in another. The others laughed when they saw her dressed in a tavern uniform apron, but when they realized she was serious, they actually lent a hand too, Diane and Elaine helping Elizabeth bring drinks back and forth, as King cleared tables and gave Meliodas assistance behind the bar. The next three hours flew by, but Elizabeth actually had fun, and when they closed at midnight she was proud to have made nearly fifty dollars.

Sitting tiredly in a stool, she untied her apron and watched Meliodas straighten up his station with a smile. Diane and King were joking around as they picked up stools, and at the other end of the bar, Ban had finally gotten Elaine the drink he promised, their heads tilted together as they spoke quietly. She sighed and leaned her chin on her hand, her elbow propped up on the bar, when Meliodas placed a tall glass of dark liquid down in front of her.

"What's this?" she laughed, eyeing the drink suspiciously.

"It's my own concoction," he said. "You earned it."

"I don't know," she said warily. "I don't really drink."

Meliodas shrugged. "I don't think one will hurt you. It's on the house of course."

Elizabeth thought about what Ban had said earlier, about how Meliodas had felt rejected, and she reached out and picked up the glass. She took a sip, the cool liquid actually burning a bit as it slid down her throat, and Elizabeth gasped a bit after swallowing. "What's in this?" she laughed.

"Little of this, little of that," he called over, and Elizabeth chuckled and took another sip. It tasted like licorice, but richer, and she licked her lips as she slowly drained the glass. "How long have you worked here?" she asked as he carried over a crate of bottles. Again she marveled at how _strong_ he seemed despite his short frame.

"Not long," he said. "Ban and I wanted something to do after we got bored at Disney. I always wanted to be a real bartender, so I thought I'd try it."

"Aren't you young for that?" she teased, taking another sip.

Meliodas laughed. "I'm older than you, I'll bet." He eyed the glass she held and said, "Do you like it? I've been trying to make my own drinks."

Elizabeth nodded, smiling as she took another sip. He chuckled and ducked down, disappearing behind the bar, and she heard the tinkling of bottles as he restocked the coolers underneath.

Feeling a bit bold, Elizabeth leaned over the bar, her hair hanging down as she perched on her stool and looked at Meliodas. "How come you never mentioned it before?" she asked.

Meliodas looked up, laughing when he saw her dangling above him. "Have you told me everything about you?" he teased, slowly standing. Elizabeth eased back a bit as they looked at one another, only a few inches apart, just as they had been outside of her apartment. It was the closest they had been since then, and as his green eyes held hers, she felt the same fluttering in her stomach. "I suppose not," she said quietly.

Leaning forward, he closed a couple of the inches between them. "I wouldn't mind finding out your secrets," he replied.

Elizabeth blinked, pressing her lips together, her eyes drifting down to his mouth. A moment of sweet tension passed between them; but their connection shattered when Diane shouted, "Elizabeth! We're leaving! Are you coming?"

Meliodas laughed and dropped his head down as Elizabeth quickly scrambled backwards. "I-I'm not done my drink," she said lamely.

King and Diane stood together at the door, and Ban and Elaine were obviously paired together now too, his arm tight around the girl as she smiled up at him from his hip. "I'll get her home," Meliodas offered, and with a final good night they were finally alone.

"Drink up," Meliodas said to her, and then carried the now-empty crate to the back. Quickly Elizabeth picked up the drink and gulped it down, wanting to finish it as fast as possible. The alcohol made her sputter a bit, and when she was finished, Elizabeth took a deep breath to steady herself. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and dragged her fingers through her hair, perching now a tiny bit unsteadily on the stool. She probably should have had something to eat, but too late now.

When Meliodas returned, he raised his eyebrows to see her empty glass. "Do you want another?" he joked, and Elizabeth eagerly nodded. They chatted a bit while he poured the drink, and then she was giggling as she sipped and asked him questions. "Do you have any hobbies?"

Meliodas chuckled. "Stealing cellphones."

"I apologized for that!" she laughed.

"Yeah, I know," he grinned. "Probably learning all this, getting to taste different types of beer. It's pretty interesting, at least to me."

Elizabeth took another long drink. "Favorite food?"

"I love anything pork," he answered, and she giggled again, thinking about how he got them hot dogs at the park, and ate the bacon from Estarossa's sandwich.

"Best quality?"

Meliodas ran a hand through his bangs. "Definitely the hair."

"What's your favorite animal?" she asked.

"Hmmm… can I say dragon?" Elizabeth nodded and he smiled. "Here, let me show you this." He pulled his left shirt sleeve up and revealed a tattoo on his arm: a circular dragon eating its own tail. "It represents infinity and longevity."

Shakily, Elizabeth leaned forward to look closer. "It's beautiful," she breathed, reaching her fingers out to brush along the dragon, blushing slightly to feel the muscle underneath. "Are those things important to you?"

Meliodas shrugged, smiling at her hand still gliding over the tattoo. "Sure. Doesn't everyone want to live forever?"

Their eyes met again, and Elizabeth dropped her hand as she bit her lip. "Are you ready to go?" he asked her quietly. Nodding, she slipped from the stool, trying to look confident; instead, she swayed on her feet, and Meliodas grabbed her by the arm to help steady her. "Easy there," he laughed, walking around the bar once he was sure she wouldn't fall over. When he reached her, Meliodas slid an arm around her waist, and Elizabeth happily leaned against him, her arms wrapping around his neck.

"You know, Meliodas," she whispered, "you're not like anyone I've ever met."

He laughed as she sagged, walking her towards the door. "I could say the same thing about you," he said.

Meliodas propped her against the wall as he locked up, and then pulled her back against him. It was warm outside without the air conditioning, and Elizabeth's head swam in the sudden humidity. It felt heavy, too heavy, and she leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. "I'm so tired," she said.

"I can tell," he replied. Then Elizabeth stumbled, her weak arms clinging to his shoulders; the last thing she remembered was Meliodas' voice, and being lifted, and then a pair of lips on her forehead.


	12. Do You Like Him?

**Chapter 12: Do You Like Him?**

The first thing Elizabeth was aware of was the pounding headache. She muttered something and turned, wondering if she was sick. Did Diane put her to bed? Raising a hand to her forehead, she expected to find it hot and feverish; instead her skin was cool, just slightly sweaty. She stretched a bit, her limbs stiff, her tongue feeling as though it was covered with fuzz. What was going on?

She opened one eye and immediately winced in the daylight. A shadow moved over her, and Elizabeth jolted, remembering the bar, the service, the drink Meliodas served her- _why did she drink so much?_ -and finally being lifted up by him outside.

"Meliodas?" she croaked, her mouth tasting dry, and opened both eyes. But instead of the blonde hair and green eyes she was expecting, there was a dark-haired beauty looking down at her with a knowing smirk.

"Oh no," she breathed, and Merlin said, "You do realize that you're not supposed to be sleeping in other people's beds?"

"I-I didn't-I mean-" She was blinking rapidly, trying to get her bearings, wondering what happened- _what did she do last night_?

"Leave her be, Merlin," Meliodas mumbled into the pillow, turning his head to make a face at the woman. "Nothing happened."

"Doesn't matter," she scolded. "Rules are rules."

Meliodas laughed and leaned up on his elbows, Elizabeth's eyes as large as saucers when she realized he was shirtless. "Since when do you care about the rules anyway?"

"I care about my beloved roommate," Merlin smirked. Her eyes flickered back to Elizabeth. "When you're ready," she said before sweeping out of the room.

Elizabeth moaned, leaning forward to press her face into the palms of her hands. "I'm so embarrassed," she groaned.

"Nah," he said, one hand sliding over to give her knee a squeeze. She was grateful to know that she was still fully dressed, and she peeked out at him through her fingers. "Like I said, nothing happened. You pretty much passed out, and my place was closer is all."

"Really?" she asked.

Meliodas shrugged. "As gorgeous as you are, being out cold is _not_ exactly how I pictured our first time."

Elizabeth felt her face burn with absolute fire at that comment, but Meliodas was climbing up, reaching over her to find a shirt from the floor. She flinched back a bit from his bare torso, still a bit embarrassed, but sneaking an appreciative look as he pulled the fabric over himself.

"Want to play hooky today?" Meliodas smiled at her once he was sitting up.

Laughing, she replied, "As much as I would _love_ to, I probably shouldn't. I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself honestly."

He gave her a wry smile. "Are you always this good?"

"Are you always this bad?" she chuckled.

Elizabeth heard her name being called from the hallway, and slowly she climbed out of the bed, rubbing her throbbing head. As she steadied herself by sitting on the edge, Meliodas disappeared into the next room, returning a minute later with three pills and a glass of water. Eagerly she drank them down, sighing as the raw feeling in her throat was soothed.

He walked her to the door, and Elizabeth paused, looking at him with a timid smile. "Thanks," she said softly. Meliodas smiled back, affection plainly written across his face, and Elizabeth wanted nothing more than to kiss him right then; but she was still feeling less than her best, and didn't want to spoil it by falling over. Instead, she reached out her hand, and Meliodas weaved his fingers through hers. Then to her surprise he lifted it up and kissed the back of her hand.

The kiss on her skin seemed to have a lingering heat that made her smile as she walked with Merlin. Elizabeth looked up at her curiously, but her roommate never looked her way, walking confidently forward as they turned the corner to their street. Meliodas really did live close by, and she was surprised to realize she had never realized that. Clearing her throat, Elizabeth timidly asked, "So what were you doing there this morning?"

Merlin huffed a laugh and peered at her out of the corner of her eye. "I was just passing through. What were _you_ doing there? You don't seem the type."

Blushing, Elizabeth answered, "I had too much to drink. And I'm _not_ the-the type, whatever you want to call it." She gazed at the tight jeans and the low-cut shirt Merlin wore and cleared her throat again. "Are you friends with Meliodas?"

"Not really," she answered. "I didn't realize you two were dating."

"I don't know what we are," sighed Elizabeth sadly.

At that Merlin really laughed. Elizabeth looked up at her again and said, "I didn't know you even knew my name."

"You're my roommate, of course I knew who you were," Merlin scoffed. "We have to look out for each other."

They reached the building, and Merlin unlocked the front door, allowing Elizabeth to slip inside. In silence they climbed the stairs to their apartment, and then Merlin went to her room and shut the door, leaving Elizabeth alone in the kitchen.

"Ellie? Is that you?" Diane called, hanging out of the bedroom. Her eyebrows shot up when she spotted her, and slyly she walked over, leaning across the kitchen counter. They looked at each other for a long moment and then Diane asked, "Well?"

"Well what?" Elizabeth answered, playing innocent as she poured herself some juice.

Diane rolled her eyes. "Well what happened with you and the thief?"

"He's not a thief," Elizabeth sighed. "And nothing happened. I drank too much and I slept at his apartment. That's it." She pointedly did not look over at Diane, and the silence stretched between them. She could feel her friend's eyes on her as she moved around the kitchen, popping a piece of bread in the toaster, peeling an orange, until finally Elizabeth pressed her hands on the counter and said, "What is it?"

"Elizabeth," Diane said in a sing-song voice, "do you like him?"

Elizabeth sighed, glancing briefly up at Diane's smile. "You know, I'm not quite sure of it myself. I've never really felt this way about anyone before. All I need to do is see Meliodas and I start cheering up, and when I'm alone I think about him, and when we're together everything else just… vanishes." With a little huff she shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I do like him."

"Then you should tell him how you feel!" Diane squealed. "If you don't someone else is going to come and snatch him away."

She looked sadly at the forgotten plate of food. "It's fine," she answered. "I don't even know how he feels. I'd rather just… keep this to myself."

"What?!" Diane shouted, making her jump. "What are you talking about? You _have_ to tell him!"

Elizabeth looked up at her, startled, and then they both started laughing. "All right," she finally said. "Next time I see Meliodas, I'll tell him."


	13. Tell Me Who He Is

**Chapter 13: Tell Me Who He Is**

Elizabeth worked a late shift that day, but she was still feeling sluggish when the evening rolled around. So on her dinner break she decided to treat herself to some hot food, and went to the main employee cafeteria instead of the Tomorrowland break room. After getting a hot sandwich and a coffee, she made her way to an empty table, wanting nothing more than some peace to think.

Diane had advised her to tell Meliodas her feelings, and Elizabeth supposed she ought to do just that… but the idea was intimidating. She was sure he liked her too, he _had_ to, the way he smiled at her and texted her every day and took care of her when she was drunk. But if he liked her, wouldn't he have said something by now? He flirted with her, but never was serious. He held her hand, but never tried to kiss her. There were so many mixed signals, she didn't know what was up or down.

Then she heard her name, and Elizabeth looked up expectantly, her stomach flipping uncomfortably when she saw Estarossa approaching. He took the seat across from her as she shifted, smiling at him politely. "What a surprise to see you," he said warmly with a grin.

"Is it?" she asked, trying to sound friendly. "I'm here almost every day."

"Not when I am, unfortunately," he answered. "How have things been going?"

They fell into a pleasant and easy conversation, catching up on their jobs and making small talk. Elizabeth ended up not minding the company as much as she had first thought. Although she suspected that Estarossa still had romantic intentions, she hoped they could stay friends, and as the conversation turned a bit flirtatious, she decided she should say something to that effect once and for all.

Estarossa gave her an opening when he said, "I'm gonna need to get back, but I'd really like to see you again _outside_ of work. Do you think we could have dinner?"

"Oh, um…" Her cheeks flaring, Elizabeth suddenly panicked. "I don't know. Are we allowed to see other employees? I think there is a rule that-"

"That's one of those rules nobody follows," he said, brushing away her concern. "It's more like a strong suggestion."

"I'm just not sure," she went on, "after all, we work in different areas of the park, and people don't really interact with other-"

"What difference does that make?" he asked, cutting her off again as he frowned. "Who cares if we're not in the same section?"

Elizabeth drew a deep breath. "Well the truth is… I'm sort of seeing someone else."

There was a heavy silence, and she sneaked a look up. Estarossa's frown had deepened, and he looked almost skeptical. "Who is it?"

She blinked in surprise. "I don't know if that's your business."

"Since when are you seeing someone?" he huffed. "Is this just an excuse?"

"No!" insisted Elizabeth. "I… we haven't been for long… actually it's not official yet or anything, but I think he likes me…"

Estarossa folded his arms. "So you're turning me down because some guy might like you? And you don't even know yet?"

"It's not like that," she answered quietly.

"Huh," he scoffed. "Well who is this guy? I'll find out for you." She looked up in surprise, and he leaned forward a bit. "Come on, Elizabeth, tell me who he is."

Unsure of what to do, she blurted out, "His name is Meliodas."

"Meliodas!" Estarossa reared back as if the name had struck him.

"Yes!" Elizabeth said, feeling a bit emboldened by his reaction. "And he warned me to be careful around you. And the way you're pushing me for this, I think he might have been right."

Suddenly Estarossa burst into laughter, startling her even more. " _Meliodas_ warned you about _me_?" he said incredulously. "Unbelievable."

"Why?" Elizabeth clenched her hands together on her lap, her nerves creeping back to hear the snide tone. "How do you even know him?"

"He's my brother," he answered, and Elizabeth's mouth popped open in surprise. "Besides," he said, leaning over the table so he could speak lowly to her, "Meliodas is the one you should look out for. He'll use you and drop you the second he has the chance."

"I don't believe you," she said harshly.

Estarossa chuckled. "Really? Then ask the guy he got fired after he pulled a stunt in the park." He shook his head, looking at her with pity. "Don't let him get his claws on you. Everyone who knows him ends up hurt. If you don't believe me, fine, but don't come crying to me when you're left wondering what the hell happened to your life."

Elizabeth stood, quickly gathering up her things. "Don't worry, I won't," she answered brusquely before hurrying out. She headed back early to her post, but Estarossa's warning left her in a twist the rest of the night. Over and over his words turned in her mind. King had mentioned someone getting fired the first night she knew his name, didn't he? So there was some truth to this… but would he really use her? Use her for what? She thought about how he had been keeping her at arm's length while also reeling her in with his charm. Could he really be this devious?

Her shift ended at midnight, and she was exhausted when she walked down her street a half hour later. When she spotted Meliodas sitting on the steps outside of her building, her chest felt like it was being squeezed. He saw her approach and hopped down with a grin and a wave. "There you are!" he called as she arrived. "I was waiting for you."

"What do you want?" she said tiredly, the question coming out harsher than she had intended.

Meliodas shrugged. "Just to see you. I wanted to know you were okay." He tilted his head, his brows coming briefly together. "Are you okay?"

Elizabeth took in a deep breath. "What is this?"

"This?" Meliodas looked around. "It's an apartment building."

"No," she said wearily. "This. _Us_. What are we? Do you even like me?"

"Of course I like you," he answered immediately, but Elizabeth rushed on, "Sometimes it feels like we're dating, sometimes you're just a friend, and we have fun and you hold my hand but you've never said anything about _us_ at all."

Meliodas considered her for a moment before asking, "Where is this coming from?"

Instead of answering, Elizabeth asked, "Why didn't you tell me Estarossa was your brother, after you warned me to be careful around him?"

"Ah, Estarossa. Now it all makes sense." Meliodas chuckled and shook his head. "So what did he tell you? I'm an evil person? I do terrible things to people, I use them? Did he tell you I ruin people's lives?"

"Not… in those words," Elizabeth answered slowly, and he went on, "And you'll believe all that? Over me?"

"I don't know what to believe!" she cried. "You always just turn up, and all these strange things just seem to happen to you. You are fun and exciting and you say sweet things all the time, but I can't tell how you feel about me. I mean you haven't even tried to kiss me!"

"Huh," he answered, and the absolute callousness of his response made her temper flare. But then he reached out and grabbed the back of her head, pulling her against him in a fierce kiss.

Her hands were immediately at his shoulders, pressing into the firm muscle there; his hand stayed steady behind her head, his fingers curling in her hair, as the other hand grabbed her hip and pulled her flushed up against him. Meliodas slanted his mouth, kissing her harder, pulling at her lips until they opened. Then he dipped inside her mouth for a moment, and Elizabeth was overcome with the feel and the taste of him.

Too soon he released her, pulling back from the kiss to look in her eyes. "There," he said. "I hope that cleared that up." Then he turned and stalked away, leaving her alone and trembling on the steps.


	14. Best Not Get Attached Anyway

**Chapter 14: Best Not Get Attached Anyway**

Meliodas stopped coming to see her, stopped texting her, and Elizabeth hadn't realized just how much he had become a part of her daily routine until he was gone. She felt terribly about her behavior, the accusation, for being such an idiot to just take Estarossa's word for it. But then she would remember Meliodas still hadn't been totally honest with her, and her heartache would churn into anger and humiliation. But deep down she knew it was her fault; all she wanted to do was _talk_ to him, and she had ruined it.

Two days after he kissed her, after two silent nights, Elizabeth texted Meliodas: _I'm sorry about what happened._

Ten minutes later came his response: _Yeah me too._

Eagerly Elizabeth texted back: _Can I see you?_

There was another long wait, and then he answered: _I don't think so_.

Elizabeth sighed, disappointment heavy in her stomach. Her face felt uncomfortably hot, and she laid down in her bed, trying to take calming breaths. At least she had her answer.

A week went by without hearing from him again, then another. Estarossa avoided her too, keeping his distance when they ran into each other, not that Elizabeth minded that all that much. Diane and Elaine tried to cheer her up, but seeing them with their own guys just made her feel worse. Diane and King were still going strong, although he only had a month left on his contract, so they were trying to figure out what to do afterwards. Meanwhile, Elaine and Ban had become attached at the hip, although they argued as much as they got along. Either way, Elizabeth preferred to be alone anyway, only seeing them when they practically dragged her from her room.

"Ban said that Meliodas is pretty upset too," Elaine told her on one of the rare occasions they actually got her out for coffee.

Elizabeth knew it was meant to help, but instead she felt worse. It was because of _her_ he was so torn up, and she hated that. "He doesn't want to see me," she answered with a bit of bitterness. "I don't know what I can do."

"He doesn't want to see you, so you go see him!" Diane insisted. "Make him listen to you!"

"No," she answered, shaking her head. "I need to respect his wishes. Besides, I tried the truth, and it backfired. I will only make things worse."

Before she knew it, three weeks had gone by, and Elizabeth had been living there for nearly three months. The following weekend was Family Weekend, and her father and sisters were traveling down to visit. She was grateful for the distraction, not realizing how much she had missed them until she knew she would see them again.

When her father arrived, Elizabeth threw herself at him, trying not to cry as he hugged her close. "Ellie, you look wonderful," he said, patting her back.

"Thank you," she sniffled. "But where are Margaret and Veronica?"

"Margaret has work, and Veronica is studying for midterms," he said. "You remember how that was, I'm sure."

Elizabeth nodded, blushing slightly. She could tell her father was more than disappointed she was still there, but she couldn't worry about that now.

He took her out to dinner, and it was a relief to get away from Diane's scrutiny for a bit and have something familiar like sharing a meal with her father. He told her about how things were going at the university, and her sister's classes, news of the family, the trip he was planning to Europe. Elizabeth nodded and listened, grateful that he wasn't asking her many questions; but she could have spoken too soon because as dessert was served he commented, "You seem different, Ellie. Are you having a good time?"

She nodded. "It's busy. The work can be difficult sometimes."

Her father laughed. "It can't be _that_ difficult. What do you do, press a button all day?"

"It's more than that," she mumbled, and he went on, "I'll be glad when you're back home. Your sisters miss you."

"I miss them too," she replied.

Happily digging into his cake, Baltra asked, "Are you seeing anyone?"

Elizabeth immediately blushed. "No." He raised his eyebrows and she said, "I thought there might be someone, but it turns out I was wrong."

He nodded. "Best not get attached anyway." Then her father reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, handing it over to his daughter. "What's this?" she asked.

"Just something I was holding on to for you." Elizabeth opened it, and saw a pair of earrings inside. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, as she recognized them belonging to her mother: a small blue orb, with the symbols of the sun and moon, a small gold hoop attached to the top. "I thought they might help if you get homesick," he explained, and she gave him a sad smile as she slipped them in her ears.

Instead of feeling better, the dinner only made her feel worse, and she was dreading the family event the next day. The housing department had put together a day of activities in the park for the employees and their families, and Baltra insisted that they go and at least experience some things while they were there. So reluctantly she put on some comfortable clothes as he waited in the living room.

When she emerged, he clucked at her attire. "We're going to Disney World, and you don't have anything Disney on! Where's the spirit? I thought you _wanted_ to be here."

"I do," she said rolling her eyes, and he ordered, "Go put something on. You have to have some mouse ears or something."

Elizabeth could see on his face that he was not going to take no for an answer. She went back to her room and frantically looked around, but the only thing she could find was the headband Meliodas had given her when they went to the park together for the first time. Her chest twisted a bit to put them on, but it could not be helped; once her father declared her appropriately Disney-fied, they headed out and towards the Magic Kingdom.

As they walked together down Main Street, Elizabeth asked, "Did you… want to go on a ride?"

"I don't think so," he answered. "I wouldn't mind seeing the Carousel though. I always loved the Carousel when I was a child."

Elizabeth sighed, thinking about the last time she rode it with Meliodas, but led her father towards Fantasyland just the same. She kept her eyes peeled for a mess of blonde hair, but she knew it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. There were thousands of people at the park, and the likelihood of her running into him was pretty small.

Her world got a bit smaller when she saw that Ban was working at the Carousel that day. "Princess!" he called with a smile as they joined the line, but the humor did not reach his eyes.

"Do you know that person?" her father asked. She was about to tell him no, but then Ban walked right over to them. "Princess, how have you been? I haven't seen you around the tavern."

"Tavern?" Baltra asked, and Elizabeth gave Ban a furious look. "I've been fine, thank you."

Ban scratched his chin and said, "Sorry I can't get you in VIP. Employees only, you know."

"My daughter is an employee," her father said with a frown, and again Elizabeth shot a look. "He's just teasing, dad," she said. "Employees aren't allowed to get extra perks in the park."

Baltra nodded, but Ban said, "That's funny. Last time you were here with the Captain I specifically remember Escanor said-"

"Hey Ban!" called another employee working at the ride entrance. "We're ready!"

He smirked at her before walking back to his post, and Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. They decided against actually getting onto the ride, so her father just took a few pictures, insisting to get a shot of her standing in front of the Carousel. Then the two strolled around a bit, taking in the sights until he complained about being thirsty.

Elizabeth found him a bench and told him she'd be right back. There was a vendor nearby who sold snacks and drinks, and she bought them each a bottle of water and a pretzel. However she found balancing it all difficult, until a hand reached out and took the bottles out from under her arm. "Let me help you with that," he said, and Elizabeth froze, recognizing Estarossa's voice.

"I don't need help, thank you," she said curtly, but he stepped away. "Come on, let me help you out."

Elizabeth sighed and grabbed some napkins before leading him back in the direction of the bench. "I'd like to make it up to you, what happened," he finally said.

"Carrying my water won't make it up," she told him. "You were rude and hurt my feelings intentionally."

"Look, how was I supposed to know you were having a thing with my brother?" Elizabeth stiffened and he went on, "I'm glad you listened to my advice though and decided to stay away from him."

"I didn't," she snapped at him.

Estarossa looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Are you telling me he broke it off? I told you he'd end up hurting you."

Elizabeth stopped, now turning furious. "It's none of your business. Now give me back my water."

"Is that your father?" asked Estarossa, and before she could stop him he strode forward, waving to Baltra who sat on the bench. Elizabeth hurried after him, and when she reached them the two were shaking hands. "Is this the young man you've been seeing?" Baltra asked, smiling at Elizabeth.

"No!" she hissed, blushing furiously.

"Elizabeth and I are just friends," Estarossa explained easily. "We started here together and met in training." He smiled down at her, and Elizabeth scowled up at him.

"Is your family here?" Baltra said, looking around.

"Somewhere," he laughed. "I lost track of my father and my brothers." With a smirk down at Elizabeth he finished, "My older brother is pretty unpredictable."

"Well don't let us keep you," she said tightly.

He narrowed his eyes a bit at her. Then something caught his eye, and he looked up; Elizabeth followed his gaze and saw the head of blonde hair she had been searching for all day approaching.


	15. We're Going To Find It

**Chapter 15: We're Going to Find It**

Elizabeth was frozen on the spot, watching Meliodas walk leisurely towards them, his hands behind his head and a smile on his face. Next to him walked a young man who looked almost identical to him, except for his wildly spiked black hair. "Hey Esta!" the young man called, and jogged over ahead of Meliodas. "We've been looking for you," he complained. "Dad wants to go, so we're leaving."

Estarossa nodded, but she could not take her eyes off of Meliodas, who finally caught up to them. "Hey, Elizabeth," he said warmly, as if nothing had ever happened between them; as if she had not hurt his feelings or slept in his bed or been kissed by him and then ignored for weeks. She opened her mouth but no words came out, but despite his friendly expression, she could see that his eyes were guarded. "Nice Mickey ears."

"Are we ready to go or not?" the youngest said again.

"Just a second, Zeldris," Meliodas answered. He kept his smile steady as he looked at Elizabeth. "How are you? I didn't expect to see you two together."

Her eyes widened as she said, "We aren't-it's not-"

"Elizabeth was just introducing me to her father," Estarossa interrupted, his face breaking into a huge grin. There was a sudden crackle of tension between the two, and Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat.

"Oh really?" Meliodas raised his brows. "Is this your dad?" He held out his hand and introduced himself, and Elizabeth felt a bit weak watching the two.

"I'm glad Elizabeth has such nice young men as friends to look out for her," Baltra said.

Meliodas did not answer, but turned to his brothers and said, "Come on, let's get going." Estarossa tried to catch her attention, but she only stared at Meliodas, so he said goodbye to her father and walked away with Zeldris on his heels. Meliodas meanwhile gave her a sideways glance and started to follow, but Elizabeth shouted, "Meliodas! Wait a second!"

He paused, his back facing her, and she stepped over to him, moving to stand next to him. She could see her father's curious stare, so she pulled him by the elbow a little further away, out of earshot. "Meliodas, can we please talk?" He didn't look up at her, watching his brothers walking away, so Elizabeth tried again. "I just want to explain what… what I was thinking, I guess." There was another pause and she said, "I miss you."

Meliodas didn't respond for a long moment, and then he said, "I do need to go. But I'll text you later, okay?"

Relief flooded through her, and Elizabeth nodded eagerly. She wondered if she should hug him, or give him a kiss, but he walked away, his hands back behind his head as he went to catch up with his brothers. She was sure she was bright pink by the time she returned to her father, but thankfully he didn't say anything.

Her father left that evening, and Elizabeth was sad to see him go. But she was also anxious about what had happened in the park, and after a quick shower she sat in the middle of her bed, waiting for Meliodas to text her. She was antsy, and tried reading or going online to pass the time, but inevitably her eyes would go back to the screen of her phone, which remained stubbornly dark. Finally, after ten o'clock, Elizabeth was about to give up and go to bed when her phone rang.

"Hello?" she said into the phone, and smiled when she heard Meliodas' voice answer, "Hey Elizabeth."

"Hi," she breathed. There was a pause before she asked, "Did you have a good time today?"

"I guess," he replied. "I was surprised my dad showed, this really isn't his kind of thing. And Zeldris… he's going through this, I don't know some kind of phase or something."

Elizabeth laughed. "At least they came, so that's nice."

There was another brief pause, and then Meliodas said, "So about what happened-"

"Before you say anything," she interrupted, "I just want to say… I don't know what happened between you and Estarossa. It's none of my business. But you've been just so wonderful to me, and I shouldn't have… I should have just talked to you."

"I appreciate you saying that," replied Meliodas. "But it's not necessary. This is my fault. I should have told you about Estarossa. I should have-"

There were voices in the background, and muffled sounds on the other end as if he was moving. Then there came a laugh and he said, "Sorry Elizabeth, hang on a minute."

"Sure," she murmured. Crossing her legs out in front of her, Elizabeth leaned back against the wall and sighed. She tried not to get too excited, but hopefully this meant they could get back on track, and finally start building up their relationship again. There were more noises on the other end, and as she listened, she reached up to twirl a lock of hair around her finger. She looked down and played with the end, finally tucking it behind her ear; and that's when she noticed her earring was missing.

"Oh no!" Elizabeth dropped the phone and began frantically searching, climbing off the bed to check her clothes, her pockets, pulling the blanket away to look underneath. Then she ran to her purse, dumping the contents on her bed, trying not to panic. But the blue earring was nowhere to be found, her right ear now completely bare.

With a sob she picked up the phone to call her father, when a voice came through the speaker. "Hello? Elizabeth, are you still there?"

"Meliodas!" she gasped, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "Meliodas, I-something-"

"What's wrong?" His voice was serious, all hint of joking gone. "Elizabeth, tell me what happened."

"It's gone," she sobbed into the phone, and he said, "Stay right where you are, I'll be there in five minutes."

Before she could say anything else, the phone line clicked, and Elizabeth was left looking at the dark screen, just as she had all the nights she waited and prayed for him to text her. For several minutes she sat trembling on the bed, and then the door buzzed in the other room. She hurried out, wiping the tears from her face, and when she heard Meliodas' voice on the other end she was relieved and nervous. "It's all right," she said through the speaker, suddenly embarrassed. "You didn't have to rush over here."

"Let me up," he said, and she obediently buzzed him in. Moments later he was inside the apartment, his hands on her arms, peering at her with concern etched on his face. "Elizabeth, what happened?"

"It's-it's nothing, I-" She looked down at him, chewing on her lip. "My earring. My father gave me this set just today." Blowing out a huge breath, Elizabeth said, "I know it sounds stupid, but they belonged-they were my mother's and-" She reached up and traced a finger on the bulb that still hung from her left ear. Her voice broke as she went on, "Now it's gone and I don't know where-"

"It's okay," he said soothingly, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. "I'm here to help. Let's start looking."

Elizabeth was grateful that he didn't scoff at her or try to make light of losing the earring. Of course, he would know what it's like to be missing a parent, wouldn't he? She wondered about that story as she led him back to her bedroom, the bed now a mess from everything being tossed. Meliodas took charge, going through her things one by one as she replaced them inside her purse, then helping her carefully look through the linens. He moved the bed to look behind it, then searched the kitchen while she looked in the living room. Elizabeth was getting more and more frantic as it became clear the earring was not in the apartment.

They sat together on the couch, Elizabeth wiping her eyes from fresh tears. "My father… he's never going to forgive me," she whispered.

"We're going to find it," he said firmly. Meliodas reached out and took her hand, which laid on her knee, and linked his fingers with hers. "I will find it."

She gave him a weak, watery smile. "I just don't know how there's any hope at all."

Pressing his lips together, Meliodas stood, pulling Elizabeth up. "Come on. If it's not here, it's gotta be at the park. We'll go retrace your steps and find it."

Shaking her head she said, "The park is closing any minute. We'll never make it."

Meliodas grinned. "The park might be closed but the tunnels are open another two hours. But we need to go now."

Her eyes went wide, and he dropped her hand and walked through the apartment. Stopping outside of Merlin's door, he knocked on it sharply and shouted, "Merlin! Open up!"

"She's not-" Elizabeth began, walking through the kitchen; but to her surprise, the door swung open.

Merlin leaned against the doorframe, her mouth twisting into a smile. "What do you want?" she asked.

"I need a key," he said matter-of-factly.

She chuckled and rolled her eyes, disappearing into her room; when she emerged, she handed him a white plastic keycard. "I need this back by tomorrow," she warned. Then her eyes flickered up to Elizabeth before she slammed the door.

Meliodas spun the card in his hand before shoving it into his jeans pocket. "All right, let's go."

They hurried out the front door, jogging together down the street to the shuttle. "Last one in two minutes," he told her, and sure enough, it was just pulling up as they arrived. Neither spoke as they sat next to each other, riding to the Magic Kingdom, the lights visible even miles out. They quickly climbed off the shuttle, a crowd of employees already waiting to get on, and the two walked briskly towards the employee entrance. "The key to this whole thing," he said to her as they ran down the steps, "is that you have to _look_ like you belong."

Elizabeth nodded, following him through the main entrance. He turned and headed towards the Fantasyland tunnel, and when she hesitated for a moment, Meliodas looked at her over his shoulder. "Are you coming?" he asked with a hint of amusement, and Elizabeth nodded and followed him inside.


	16. I Will Fulfill My Promise to You

**A/N:** Hello everyone! I just wanted to leave a quick note to first of all say THANK YOU to everyone who has been reading this story. Your reviews and PMs have been wonderful, and your support for this fic has been amazing! There is nothing better for a writer than to get feedback from the readers. I'm so glad so many of you have embraced this story.

Now just a quick note, the next chapter will be published on the last day of March, and then I will be publishing Chapter 18 on the first of April. I want to stick with the odd-day publishing schedule so that I don't confuse myself. :D

I also would love to direct you to the work of my very dear friend Vetur02, who created the incredible cover art for this story. She has also illustrated a scene from this very chapter you are about to read, and her wonderful artwork can be found on her Tumblr blog and her Twitter. Please, please go and check out these absolutely beautiful pictures. She is an amazing talent and and even more amazing friend, and I know you will be as stunned by her art as I am.

* * *

 **Chapter 16: I Will Fulfill My Promise To You**

The tunnel was exactly the same as the one that led to Tomorrowland, except that the color was pink instead of purple. Still, Elizabeth was nervous as she walked next to Meliodas, who kept them at a quick but not terribly fast pace. "Relax," he whispered to her, putting a hand on her back. She jumped a bit at the sensation, but nodded and tried to look at ease, as hard as it was.

No one stopped them, thankfully, but they only passed a handful of people. Most of the late shift was still on for another half-hour, and soon the tunnel would be swarming with people heading home. "Almost there," he said, and after another rounded corner, they finally emerged in the park, the opening leading them behind Ariel's Grotto. "Let's start at the Carousel," he suggested.

Together they walked through the quiet streets, trying not to make any noise. They rounded another corner and the Carousel was straight ahead, the lights dimmed as the employees finished shutting down the attraction for the night. Elizabeth hesitated when she saw the others there, but Meliodas strode confidently forward, calling out, "Gil! Howzer!"

The two employees both turned, and one laughed and walked over to the fence. "Hey Captain, what are you doing here?" asked one, and he and Meliodas did a slightly shortened version of the handshake he shared with Escanor.

"My girl Elizabeth lost something," he explained, tilting his head to where she stood nervously to the side. She swallowed to hear him say _my girl_ , but when both pairs of eyes landed on her she froze up a bit.

"Ho ho, is this the princess?" one asked excitedly, and Meliodas just snorted. "Focus, guys. It's an earring, a little round, blue jewel. It belonged to her mom, and it's really important. She was here earlier today with her father. Have you guys seen it?"

"No," said one with pink hair, folding his arms. "No one turned in anything like that."

"Are you sure you dropped it here, princess?" the other asked. "Do you know when you had it?"

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "I don't know, actually. But we were here for a while."

"Let's look around." Gil and Howzer grabbed a couple of flashlights, and the four of them began to walk around, searching the ground. After about ten minutes, Elizabeth sighed sadly. "It's not here," she said.

"We're not giving up just yet," Meliodas said. He looked at his two friends and said, "Keep looking guys, will you? We're gonna head towards the castle."

"Yeah," said Howzer. "Be careful though. Hendrickson is on duty tonight."

Meliodas grinned. "Don't worry, I got something in my pocket." Elizabeth wondered what that could mean, but then he took her hand and said, "Come on."

They walked down the winding path, eyes on the ground, weaving around the attractions. Both searched the ground as they picked their way through, looking for the earring. As they neared the castle, Meliodas gave a shout, and jogged away, crouching down on the ground to pick up something. Elizabeth's heart leapt right out of her chest, hurrying over to him, but he looked up at her with a disappointed frown. "Sorry," he said. "It was a button."

With a heaving sigh Elizabeth plopped down on a bench. She leaned forward, one arm curled around her, the other playing with the remaining earring hanging from her left ear. "This is all my fault," she said sadly. "My father trusted me with these, a treasured item from my mother and now…" A tear slipped down her cheek, splashing on her arm. "Now we'll never be able to find it! And if I hadn't lost it, you wouldn't have had to take such a risk… you wouldn't be here, in danger of losing your job…"

Meliodas crouched down in front of her, his hands pressing lightly on her knees and giving her a squeeze. "Hey," he said, "are you really going to give up now, just because of a tear or two?" Elizabeth lifted her eyes and looked at him, expecting to see him smiling at her; however, his expression was serious, the resolve obvious on his face. "I promised to help you find that earring," he told her, "and even if we get caught and I get banned from Disney World forever, I will fulfill my promise to you."

She gazed back at him, amazed by his earnestness, especially since she had hurt him before. With a small smile she reached up and brushed her fingers through his bangs, stroking his cheek with her thumb. "Thank you," she whispered.

With a sudden grin he snaked his hands around her waist and yanked her forward, hauling her up to her feet. "Let's go," he laughed, and taking her hand he started forward again as they continued their search.

A half hour later, they still hadn't found anything. The employees were starting to head home, and Elizabeth knew they couldn't stay out there much longer; soon only security would be left, and then they'd _really_ be in trouble. "Meliodas," she said, "I think we should head back. The tunnels are going to be closed soon."

"I told you, I'm not giving up," he said. He looked around for a moment, then tilted his head. "Let's go this way."

Meliodas led her back through Fantasyland, until they reached Cinderella's castle. They ducked behind some bushes as a couple of people walked by, and then they hurried into the tunnel that ran through the castle. "What are we doing?" she whispered, the sound feeling large as they stuck close to the wall.

"We need somewhere to stay put for a bit," he replied. They reached the door to the restaurant, and with a flash of his hand he pulled out the keycard from his pocket and swiped it next to the panel at the side. The door unlocked with a loud click, and a moment later she was being pulled inside the dark room.

"Here we are," he said, walking confidently through the dark restaurant. "We can hang out here for a bit until everyone else clears out. Then we'll be free to look around."

Elizabeth's eyes traveled around the dim room nervously. It was filled with tables already set for breakfast, the moonlight casting colored shadow through the stained glass windows. Just the emergency lights were on, giving just enough to see by in the dark. "What about security?"

Meliodas pulled out one of the large plush chairs and laughed. "You worry way too much." He leaned down and patted the seat of the chair. "Come sit for a minute."

Still a bit nervous, she walked over, and Meliodas pushed her chair in as she sat down. Taking the seat across from her, he undid one of the napkins that was perched perfectly on the table. With flourish he waved it through the air and settled it across his lap, and Elizabeth could not help but giggle. "Does anything scare you?" she asked him.

He looked at her strangely. "Sure, plenty of stuff. Rotten milk. Ladybugs. Really, really big rocks-"

"Meliodas," she interrupted him, laughing and shaking her head. Deciding on a new tactic, she asked, "Why does everyone call you Captain?"

She could make out his eyes rolling in the faint light. "It's because I started in Tomorrowland, and worked on the Buzz Lightyear ride. Then they switched me over to Fantasyland, and everyone called me Captain." He shrugged. "I don't mind it. Makes me sound important."

"I think it's sweet," replied Elizabeth. "You can tell how much everyone likes you."

"Well, I don't know about _everyone_ ," he chuckled. He leaned his elbows on the table and looked up at her through the hair hanging down over his eyes. "You, for instance."

"Me?" asked Elizabeth, her voice going into an embarrassing squeak. "What do you mean?"

Placing his chin into the palm of his hand, he leaned in closer. "I mean, sometimes it feels like we're dating, sometimes it's like we're just friends… we have fun together, but you've never even tried to kiss me." He grinned as her mouth dropped open in surprise, a blush forming on her cheeks. "Did I say that right?"

She huffed out a nervous laugh, and he leaned in a bit closer. Elizabeth leaned forward too, until they were just a few inches away, and then Meliodas said quietly, "You're not like anyone I've ever met."

Elizabeth searched his face, looking for a hint that he was teasing; but despite the lopsided grin and the way his eyes were trained on hers, he seemed to be serious. She tilted forward, closing the gap between them, and pressed her lips firmly on his. Meliodas chuckled, but then he returned the kiss, moving his mouth slowly over hers.

There was a noise outside, and before Elizabeth could even think Meliodas had grabbed her arm and pulled her under the table. The door opened and someone peeked inside, and they huddled together not making a sound, their bodies pressed tightly together. A minute later footsteps walked out, followed by the click of the door shutting, and Elizabeth covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"That was close," he whispered. Elizabeth turned her face towards him, and then he was kissing her again, one hand sliding into her hair as she gently pressed her hands against his arms. She thought that it could not be more perfect, or more perfectly Meliodas, to be kissing him under an elaborately set table as they hid from security in Cinderella's castle.


	17. I Can't Believe We Really Did This

**Chapter 17: I Can't Believe We Really Did This**

A while later, they stood by the door as Meliodas listened. "I think the coast is clear," he whispered. "It's almost one, everyone should be gone by now."

Elizabeth wanted to trust him, but she had to ask. "What are we going to do? Aren't we trapped in here now? What if security-"

"Hey," he whispered. "I told you to trust me, didn't I?" He held up the white key card and continued, "As long as I have this, we're good. It'll unlock anything in this place."

Blinking in surprise, she hissed, "How does _Merlin_ have that?"

"She makes them. She works for security and figured out how to do it." He gave her a wink. "Comes in handy when you need to sneak around."

Elizabeth shook her head. Why does anything about him surprise her anymore? "Why would anyone need to sneak around here after it closes?" she laughed quietly.

"No lines," he whispered. Opening the door, he poked his head out for a moment. "Okay, we're good. Let's go."

They slipped out and walked along the wall, trying not to make any noise. "Stay close to the walls," he whispered. "The cameras aren't really angled that way." Nodding she followed him as they made their way towards Main Street.

It was almost eerie being there with the streets so empty, but luckily between the lights that were on and the moonlight, there was enough for them to see. They split up and went on either sidewalk, slowly searching, trying to stay as quiet as they could. Elizabeth was tired, the emotions of the long day starting to take its toll as she tried to focus in on every crevice in the road, her eyes sweeping over every corner. But by the time they were halfway towards the entrance, she could feel her shoulders and her eyes drooping.

"Elizabeth!" Meliodas hissed, and she jerked awake, her head whipping over to where he stood on the other side. She hopped off the curb and hurried across the street, and as she approached, she gave a little gasp. He was grinning, holding up the missing earring.

"You found it!" she cried, launching herself at him, her arms going around his neck and planting a kiss on his cheek. "How can I ever thank you?"

"I'll come up with something," he laughed as an arm slipped around her waist; then his hand roamed downwards, giving her rear a squeeze, and Elizabeth jumped.

Before she could chastise him, he held out the earring, and she took it carefully in her palm. "It looks like the back was damaged, but it seems to be okay."

Briefly she closed her eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. Elizabeth closed her hand around the earring and then slipped it into her pocket. "Now let's get out of here," he whispered, and eagerly Elizabeth nodded.

Quickly they hurried back towards the castle, but when they got there, Meliodas turned a sharp left. "Where are we going?" she whispered, and he pushed her forward, saying, "The Adventureland tunnel is closest from here."

A minute later, Meliodas pulled her into the employee access, and their footsteps echoed as they rushed into the tunnel. "I can't believe we really did this," Elizabeth laughed, and Meliodas grinned at her, linking his fingers with hers. Her face was flushed from the excitement, her heart pounding in her chest as they ran. Soon the exit came into view, and she blew out a breath in relief.

They crossed the end of the tunnel and dashed into the juncture at the entrance. But then Meliodas came up short, Elizabeth practically crashing into him. "Meliodas?" she panted, looking up to see what had stopped him.

There was someone standing between them and the exit, and when her eyes adjusted to the light, Elizabeth saw that it was Estarossa. Her breath caught for a second as Meliodas said in a bored-sounding voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I was here covering a shift, and word got around that Meliodas was looking for a girl's earring." His eyes flickered up to Elizabeth before he continued, "Of course, everyone stopped what they were doing to start looking. After all, _everyone_ just loves you."

Meliodas heaved a huge sigh. "Get over it, Estarossa. Your jealousy is getting old."

The taller man scowled, and then he turned his gaze to Elizabeth. "Didn't I tell you he was nothing but trouble? Now look at you, sneaking around the park in the middle of the night. Getting fired is the best thing that would happen to you."

"Then what are _you_ doing here?" she demanded.

"I knew you had to come out this way, so I stuck around to see you." He folded his arms and smirked, "This will be the second time you get caught trespassing. I don't think they'll be so lenient this time, no matter who dad knows."

Elizabeth's eyes flickered down to Meliodas, wondering what Estarossa was referring to. She pressed closer to him, and Meliodas moved his hand to her hip, giving her an encouraging squeeze.

"Did he tell you about it yet?" Estarossa asked. "How he snuck in the park to tamper with the rides? What a prank, huh? Make a bunch of the attractions go haywire, who cares if anyone gets hurt?"

"That's a lie," Meliodas said, an edge of anger in his voice. Elizabeth tensed, having never heard him speak this way before; she glanced over nervously, wondering if any of it was true.

Estarossa went on, "Then, when he and his friend got caught, my brother let _him_ take all the blame. _He_ got fired and arrested, and _Meliodas_ walked away scott-free. One phone call and a quick transfer and it was all forgotten." He glared at his brother menacingly. "Your stupid stunt almost cost _me_ this job. You've been doing stuff like this forever. Well, Prince Meliodas isn't getting away with it this time."

"It's my fault," Elizabeth said. "We were down here because I lost something precious to me. Meliodas was just trying to help."

"I told you he'd use you," Estarossa snapped, and Meliodas responded, "Leave her out of this."

"I don't believe you," Elizabeth said fiercely. "If Meliodas was there, he had a perfectly good reason for it." She saw Meliodas look up at her out of the corner of her eye, but her gaze stayed on Estarossa. "So you're going to turn us in then? Because he didn't get fired? Because I wouldn't go out with you? Fine, turn us in then, I don't care." She grabbed Meliodas' hand and started walking towards the exit. "Come on, Meliodas."

The blonde was all smiles as he walked next to her. "Sorry brother, she's kind of in charge," he laughed as they moved past him.

Estarossa made an angry noise in the back of his throat, suddenly lunging towards them. Elizabeth gave a startled cry, then all at once she was pushed backwards, landing hard on her behind. Meliodas swiped with his arm, and a second later Estarossa was on the ground, bleeding from his lip, Meliodas standing over him and flexing his fist.

She looked on in shock, barely noticing as Meliodas walked over to her until he said, "Elizabeth? Are you okay?"

Elizabeth nodded, taking his offered hand to stand up, brushing off her shorts as she stood on shaky legs. He searched her for a second for injuries before turning his glare back to his brother, who was just sitting up on the ground. "Don't come near her again," he threatened, and then he was pressing her forward towards the entrance, his hand firm on her hip.

Meliodas kept them walking, and when they had finally made it past the parking lot, Elizabeth saw there was a familiar green car parked by itself on the side of the lot entrance. She recognized it once they got closer, and Meliodas opened up the back door and pushed her inside.

Elaine was behind the wheel, and Ban turned around and looked at them both over the back of the passenger seat. "Took ya long enough," he snorted, and Elaine adjusted the mirror, looking straight at Elizabeth. "Are you guys okay?" she asked.

Elizabeth nodded. As Elaine started driving, she turned and looked at Meliodas, who had a furious scowl on his face. She didn't know what to say, but when her eyes traveled down, she could see that he was still flexing his fingers delicately. Reaching out, she took his hand in both of hers, her fingers gently brushing over his knuckles. She felt him stiffen a bit next to her, but Elizabeth continued caressing his skin as they sat in silence.

They were nearly at her apartment when Meliodas said, "That feels better, thanks."

Elizabeth smiled. "You'll need some ice."

"Nah." He leaned his head back on the seat. "Do you have healing powers or something? I'm telling you, it feels a lot better."

"It's the least I could do," she whispered. Meliodas turned his face toward her and smiled, and Elizabeth felt the happiest she had been in a long time.

When they reached her apartment, Meliodas climbed out of the car with her and told them not to wait. "Are you sure, Captain?" Ban asked, leaning out the window. "King still doesn't know we took the car, we can stay for a while."

"Yup," he answered. "I'll get home later." With a final wave Elaine drove away, and Elizabeth led him up the stairs. She didn't ask if he wanted to come up, nor did he ask if he could; silently they slipped inside the building and climbed the steps to the second floor. Once inside, Elizabeth went to make an ice pack, sitting Meliodas down on a stool in the kitchen and pressing the compress on his bruised hand.

She slipped the keycard from Meliodas' pocket as he nursed his fingers before knocking on Merlin's door. She knew it was late, but Merlin answered anyway, and Elizabeth handed it over with her thanks. "Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked with a smirk. Elizabeth just nodded with a smile, and Merlin chuckled as she shut the door.

Returning to the kitchen, Elizabeth took the ice pack when he handed it back to her, pausing to take another look at his fingers, but Meliodas assured her he was fine. She took his hand and pulled him to her bedroom, careful in the dark room to not wake up Diane who was sleeping soundly in her own bed. They slipped off their shoes and climbed into her bed, Elizabeth curling up next to Meliodas as he wrapped his arm around her.

Elizabeth was exhausted, but she stared into the dark, listening to Meliodas' breathing. She thought he had fallen asleep, but then he whispered, "Do you want to play hooky tomorrow?"

She laughed as she nodded against him. "I think we earned it," she whispered back.

There was another long silence as he slowly rubbed her back. Elizabeth slid her arm tentatively across him, feeling him give a deep sigh. "It's not true, you know," he finally said. "What Estarossa told you. I went to try to stop them, not to hurt anyone."

Elizabeth pressed her face on his shoulder. "I know you wouldn't do that."

"There are a lot of rumors about me," he chuckled. "But you know the truth." Elizabeth felt her face burning a little, grateful for the darkness to cover it up.


	18. I Need to Go

**Chapter 18: I Need To Go**

Elizabeth jolted awake with the blare of her alarm, quickly scrambling over the side of the bed to find her phone. She turned it off and flopped back on the mattress with a huge sigh. Feeling Meliodas move next to her, she nervously glanced over at Diane's bed, relieved to find it empty. Then she turned to the other side to look at him, finding Meliodas leaning up on his elbows and rubbing his face.

He finally looked up and smiled at her, sliding closer and slipping an arm around her waist. His hand trailed up her side, then her arm, finally reaching up to brush her hair back behind her right ear; then he unexpectedly tugged on the bare earlobe. Elizabeth sighed. "I never put the earring back in," she said quietly.

"I don't know," he answered, teasing the shape of her ear with his fingertips. "I kind of like the one earring look."

Elizabeth huffed a laugh, shifting a bit to turn towards him. After everything that had happened yesterday, finally seeing him again, finally sharing a _kiss_ , then watching as he defended her, somehow she still felt nervous butterflies when he looked at her like that. "Are you still going to hang out with me today?" he asked quietly, and she nodded, bringing her hands up to slide over his shoulders. Meliodas grinned and leaned down, pressing his mouth softly on hers.

Suddenly there was an unfamiliar chiming, and Meliodas sighed against her lips. "What timing," he muttered, and sat up, much to her disappointment. He fished inside of his pocket before pulling out his phone, swiping the screen with a sigh and bringing it to his ear. "Yeah," he said impatiently.

Feeling self-conscious, Elizabeth slid into a sitting position, looking at him curiously. Meliodas was listening, absent-mindedly running a hand through his hair, before he huffed and said, "That's not what happened at all." He glanced at her and rolled his eyes; then Meliodas snapped into the phone, "Yes, I punched him, but he deserved it."

Her eyes went wide hearing that, watching as he climbed off the bed, clearly agitated. Meliodas walked out of the bedroom, still listening to the phone, and Elizabeth swallowed, suddenly nervous now that he was gone. She hadn't thought about the consequences that could possibly come for him for sneaking her into the park, or for hurting his brother; Estarossa had been right that their best case scenario would be to simply be fired.

While Meliodas was gone, Elizabeth called the employee line and left a message that she was too sick to come in, and then debated whether she should go find him as she waited on the bed. But a few minutes later he returned, a frown on his face. "Sorry, Elizabeth," he said. "I'm gonna have to go. I think I need a rain check on our day today."

"Is everything all right?" she asked anxiously.

"Yeah," he sighed. "That was just my dad. Estarossa… well, he's not happy." Suddenly he laughed. "It's fine though. But I need to go."

"Maybe I should go with you," she said. "I can explain what happened, what we were doing there and-"

"No," replied Meliodas, shaking his head. "I want you to keep out of this. No sense in you getting into trouble because Estarossa decided to be a jerk." Then he smiled and stepped up next to her, leaning down to plant a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll call you later," he said before turning and walking out of the room.

Now that the day stretched out empty before her, Elizabeth had no idea what to do with herself. She took a long, hot shower and cleaned up the apartment, then went out to get some groceries. By the time she was done, it was still early afternoon, and she ended up on her bed again, anxiously looking at her phone, wondering if she should text Meliodas to see if he was all right.

Instead, she pulled out her laptop and opened it up. There were a bunch of emails to go through, and her heart flipped when she saw one from her father. The subject line said Course Offerings, and she read on:

 _Here's the summer catalogue, thought you'd want to see it before it came out. You can take some classes this summer and catch up what you missed. Registration starts next week, so just let me know and I'll take care of everything._

She clicked the attachment and started reading through the class descriptions, barely paying attention. She was nearly halfway through her contract, and in order to start school again she would need to end it early; but the problem of what to declare still hadn't been solved at all. Elizabeth had taken this job and moved away in order to figure out what she wanted to do. Unfortunately, she was nowhere closer to knowing the answer.

Her phone rang, making her jump, and Elizabeth quickly scrambled to answer it. "Hello?" she said eagerly.

"Elizabeth! It's Diane." Elizabeth closed her eyes and sighed. "I thought you were working today."

"I was supposed to," she answered, "but then-"

"Yeah, yeah, I saw you guys this morning," laughed her friend. Then her tone turned serious and she said, "Did he hurt you or anything?"

"No!" Elizabeth cried. "Why would you say that?"

She heard some background noise and Diane speaking to someone, then she quickly said, "I don't know, there's a lot of rumors going around. People are saying you snuck in the park last night, and Meliodas attacked someone. I wouldn't have believed it, but when I saw him in your bed this morning… What were you guys doing?"

Elizabeth sighed. "That's not what happened at all. I lost something, and he was helping me find it. Yes, we were there after hours, but we didn't do anything, I swear it."

"What about what everyone is saying, that he attacked somebody? Elizabeth, you-you would tell me if he hurt you, wouldn't you?" she asked, her voice going soft.

Her heart swelled with the affection in her friend's voice, and Elizabeth quickly said, "Yes, of course, Diane, but he didn't. It was Estarossa. He tried to grab me, and Meliodas hit him."

"Estarossa!" Diane shrieked. "That jerk! Just wait until I get my hands on him."

"You dont-" she began, but Diane interrupted, "Well anyway, there is something going down. Elaine texted me that Meliodas was here, and in trouble. She was wondering if you were too, since she and Ban saw you guys last night."

"In trouble?" exclaimed Elizabeth. "What kind of trouble?"

"I don't know," she answered. "But last I heard he was with security."

Elizabeth gasped. Were they firing him? Was he being _arrested_? "Diane, I have to go," she said, and she could hear her friend say, "Elizabeth! Don't do any-" but did not let her finish as she quickly hit the button to end the call.

Scrambling from her room she ran next door to Merlin's. Elizabeth knocked hard, and when no answer came, she knocked again. With a huff of frustration she pushed the door open, finding the room empty.

Now what? Without Merlin to help, Elizabeth decided to go and find Meliodas herself. She was _not_ going to let him take the blame for what happened, especially if that meant that he was going to be in serious trouble. In a minute she had changed and grabbed her badge and purse, heading out the door to catch the shuttle to the Magic Kingdom.


	19. The Captain's In Trouble?

**Chapter 19: The Captain's In Trouble?**

Elizabeth ran through the park, heading first to Tomorrowland. She found Diane working as a greeter at the Monsters Inc. show, and her friend gaped in surprise to see the girl hurrying towards her. "Elizabeth!" Diane cried. "You're not supposed to be here today! You're going to get in trouble if anyone sees you."

"I don't care," Elizabeth said, catching her breath. "Where is Elaine today? I need to find out where Meliodas is."

"She's in one of the souvenir shops," replied Diane. "But Elizabeth-"

"Thank you!" she cried, taking off again, making her way as fast as she could through the crowds of people. She decided to cut through the castle to get to Fantasyland, her heart beating a bit faster as she ran past the Royal Table restaurant, unable to stop herself from thinking about how Meliodas had kissed her there. Her hair flew out behind her as she ran, determined to find him and make sure he was all right.

But when she got to Fantasyland, she realized she had no idea where to start looking… and she had the feeling that time was running short. Elizabeth pulled out her phone and dialed Elaine's number, in the off chance she was on break; however, she only got the girl's voicemail, and left an urgent message for her to call as soon as she could. For good measure, she tried Meliodas too, but to her disappointment his phone didn't even ring before the voicemail message began to play.

Straight ahead was the Carousel, so Elizabeth headed there, praying Ban was working. When she saw the spiky hair at the exit, she almost cried out in relief, shouting, "Ban! Ban!" as she ran over.

He turned in surprise, looking down at her in confusion as she reached him. "Princess, what are you doing?"

"I need to find Elaine," Elizabeth gasped. "She said that Meliodas is in some kind of trouble, and-"

"The Captain's in trouble?" Ban interrupted sharply.

She briefly closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know what to do."

"Hang on, princess," he said. She watched as he pulled out his radio and pressed a button. "Gil, Escanor, Captain's in trouble. Shut it down." Ban looked back at her and jerked his head. "Come on, let's go."

"But aren't you working?" Elizabeth asked, confused, when suddenly a loud buzzing came from the ride.

"Sorry everyone!" Escanor shouted from the entrance. "Carousel is down, you'll need to clear out!"

There were groans from the crown, and Ban easily stepped over the gate with his long legs. Elizabeth followed as he jogged around to the front. "When these people clear out," he said to the other two, "head down towards Main Street. Keep your radio on."

Gil and Escanor nodded, and then Elizabeth was hurrying to keep up with his long stride as they weaved through the park. "I'm guessing this has something to do with your excursion last night?" Ban asked. Elizabeth blushed at the question, but when she peeked up at him he was grinning. "Damn Captain," he muttered with a laugh.

They made their way towards the castle, where Ban hung a quick right. He led her through an employee access door, and then they made their way down a hallway. "Where are we going?" Elizabeth asked. "Diane said Elaine was working in souvenirs."

"She's in the boutique today," he answered, then said with a snort, "I've been dying to see her in the costume, this will be fun."

Elizabeth looked at him in confusion, but before she could ask he opened another door and ushered her inside. She blinked in surprise to find them in the midst of a dozen girls in chairs around the room, staff members dressed as characters hurrying around with brushes and make-up and carrying princess dresses. Unable to help the grin that came over her face, she giggled as a little girl excitedly chatted with the woman curling her hair, clutching a Cinderella doll tightly to her chest. Other girls were in different stages of primping: some getting their hair done, others getting make-up applied, one or two trying on dresses.

"Excuse me!" a woman dressed like Snow White cried, storming over to them. "You are _not_ allowed in here!" She poked Ban in the chest to emphasize her point. "We are by _appointment only_."

"Do I look like I'm here for a makeover?" he snapped at her, and then pointed to his name tag. "Where is Elaine?"

The woman huffed. "There is no _Elaine_ here. But if you mean _Tinkerbell_ , she is busy with a guest right now."

"Go eat a poisoned apple," he snapped, sweeping past her and walking around her easily. The woman continued to fume, even as Elizabeth gave her an apologetic smile. "You are ruining the magic!" she squealed.

"Sue me," he answered distractedly, turning around; then he paused with a wolfish grin. "Ha! I love it!"

Elizabeth followed as he sauntered behind a short woman in a full Tinkerbell costume, her blonde hair swept up on top of her hair in a bun. Tinkerbell did not see him coming as she was very distracted by what looked like an eight-year-old Elsa scowling with her arms folded. "I want _pink_ eye shadow!" the little girl whined, her lip going out into a pout.

"Look," said Tinkerbell, her voice pleasant but tinged with a distinct hint of a threat, "you wanted to be Elsa. Elsa has white eye shadow. Deal with it."

"Mooo-oooomm!" the girl cried, and just when it looked like the fairy would pounce on the squealing girl, Ban caught her up the waist and lifted her. "Hey there, fairy girl," he laughed, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Ban!" she shouted in surprise, trying to twist around and look at him. "What are you doing? What are you doing here?"

"Needed to see ya," he said, nuzzling along her neck. Elaine kicked her feet a bit, dangling several inches up over the floor, yelping, "Put me down!"

Ban ignored her, giving her cheek another kiss, but as she tried to elbow him he suddenly got a face full of fairy wings and set her down. "Watch the wings," he growled.

"That's what you _get_ ," she fumed, her face red and her arms crossed, but Elizabeth giggled when she saw the corners of her mouth twisting.

"Is that Peter Pan?" the girl in the chair said, her eyes wide and her complaints forgotten.

Ban glared at her and put his hands on his hips. Leaning over, he said threateningly, "No, I'm Captain Hook. Now quit your whining or I'll come and steal you while you're sleeping."

"Ban!" Elaine chastised, smothering a laugh, but the little girl looked at him with a mixture of fear and confusion. "Nuh uh!" she said nervously. "You can't-"

"Try me," he growled menacingly. The girl's eyes went even wider, and then she quickly turned around and faced the front, her hands folded perfectly in her lap.

"You are going to get me fired," Elaine whispered, stepping behind the chair. "What are you doing here?"

"Diane said you told her Meliodas was in trouble," Elizabeth said quietly. "What is going on? Do you know where he is?"

Elaine shook her head. "I have a friend in the front office who said that he was with security. If I had a guess, Hendrickson has him." She paused for a moment before continuing, "You might want to check with your friend Merlin. If anyone knows where he is, it's her."

"I tried, but I don't know where she is, either," Elizabeth sighed.

Elaine shrugged. "I'm sorry. Head towards security though, I'll be anything that someone there can help you." Then she smiled up at Ban. "Now go, I gotta finish this. Snow White is going to kill me."

Elizabeth gave her a nod of thanks, but Ban grabbed her up again and planted a smacking kiss on her lips. "Can you bring that costume home?" he asked, and Elizabeth felt her cheeks flare with heat at the suggestion.

"Get out!" Elaine laughed, but she winked at him before going back to her client. With a chuckle he walked towards the front door, giving a friendly wave to Snow White, who stood watching them fuming with arms folded.

Once they were back outside, the two quickly hurried back towards the front. Ban's radio crackled, and he held it up to listen. "We checked Main Street, no Captain," Escanor's voice came through the speaker. "Where to now?"

"Just hang tight," he responded. "I'll let you know."

Just then, Elizabeth's cell phone rang. Quickly she pulled it from her pocket, her heart leaping when she saw Meliodas' name come across the screen. "Hello? Meliodas, are you okay?" she cried into the phone, but then to her surprise, a familiar female voice answered.

"Elizabeth, I'm glad you picked up."

"Merlin? Is that you?" Elizabeth blew out a deep breath. "I was looking for you! Why do you have his phone? Do you know what-"

"Listen," Merlin interrupted. "Estarossa told security Meliodas attacked him, and he's not denying it so you don't get in trouble. You should probably come to City Hall."

"Right." Elizabeth hung up and relayed the news to Ban, who got back on the radio. "Everybody, City Hall, one minute," he said, and then they hurried together down Main Street.


	20. My Reason For Working

**Chapter 20: My Reason for Working**

When they reached City Hall, Elizabeth was shocked to see a small crowd of employees gathering outside. "What's going on?" she asked, looking up at Ban.

He did not answer, instead making a beeline towards where Gil and Howzer stood with Escanor. She began to follow him, but then paused as she looked around a bit more. Slader was there, and King and Helbram, among the other employees she didn't know; but everyone was wearing uniforms from all over the park. Gowther was even there and gave her a little wave; then she heard her name and turned around.

"Elizabeth!" Diane cried as she ran towards her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but… what is going on?" she asked, still looking around at the crowd of faces.

Helbram and King appeared next to them, and Helbram said, "Word went out that you and Meliodas needed back up… looks like you've got more friends than you thought. Or he does, I'm not sure." He laughed and waved to another employee, and even more crowded around, now several dozen milling around outside the entrance.

All of it was a bit overwhelming, but the atmosphere among the crowd was that of a party, or a reunion of sorts. Despite the fact that employees in different parts of the parks didn't generally speak to one another, everyone seemed to somehow know someone else, and there were calls and hellos and hugs everywhere. Elizabeth could not help the small smile that formed on her lips. It was almost like being in the middle of a family reunion.

"Does everyone really know each other?" she asked Diane quietly, and her friend shrugged. "Looks like it," Diane answered.

Elizabeth nodded, and then frowned. "If everyone is here… who is running the park?"

Diane's eyes went a bit wide, but they were interrupted before she could answer.

"All right everyone, listen up!" Ban shouted over the crowd, and the employees all turned towards him. "Captain needs help, and we are here to back him up if they try to fire him. We all have stories about things he did to help us out, and now he needs us to come through for him." Everyone seemed to nod in agreement, murmuring to one another, and Elizabeth was surprised to see that so many people not only _knew_ Meliodas, but felt such a strong loyalty to him. It made her feel unbelievably happy, her heart swelling with pride.

"Now he was here after hours last night, sure," Ban continued, "but who here hasn't been?" A few people laughed at this, and Elizabeth blushed. "He was here helping out the princess, and then he defended her when she was threatened. Isn't that right, princess? Tell us what happened!"

Every eye turned to look at her, and Elizabeth knew her face must be beet red. Her mouth dropped open with a squeak, but when Diane elbowed her, she managed to stutter out, "Y-yes, Meliodas, he… I lost something." She swallowed, her voice gaining a bit more confidence as she spoke. "I lost something precious to me, and he helped me find it. And then after we were heading home, someone tried to hurt me, and he protected me." Elizabeth drew in a deep breath, and then raised her voice to say, "Meliodas is someone precious to me too, and I will defend him!"

There was a shocked silence, and Elizabeth was suddenly horribly, terribly embarrassed; but then Escanor shouted, "Yeah!" and everyone else started clapping.

She let loose a nervous giggle, Diane squeezing her arm reassuringly. But their excitement was cut short with Estarossa's voice. "That was a moving speech, Elizabeth. But unfortunately, it will do no good."

The crowd quieted down as he stood in the center of the group, smirking, and behind him, the doors to City Hall opened. Hendrickson walked out, pulling Meliodas along by one arm, and behind them, more security guards, and several men in suits. One of the men looked suspiciously familiar to Elizabeth, and he was flanked on one side by Merlin, who met Elizabeth's surprised gaze.

Diane's hand on her arm suddenly squeezed. "Elizabeth, do you know who that is?" she whispered fiercely, and the girl shook her head. "That's the Vice President of the park, Arthur Pendragon!"

"Arthur… Pendragon?" Elizabeth gasped. She knew that name! It was one of the last students her father had taught before taking over Liones University… he was in charge of the Magic Kingdom? Elizabeth remembered what Estarossa had said about the "in", and a for a moment she felt confused; but then she pushed it away. If she could use her connection to save Meliodas, then she was going to try.

But before she could say anything, Ban shouted, "Hey! What are you doing with the Captain? He didn't do anything wrong!"

Meliodas grinned at his friend sheepishly, but Hendrickson growled and shook him a bit in his grip. "He broke into the park after closing to steal something, and then attacked another employee who tried to stop him. He's going to jail."

"No!" Elizabeth cried. She pushed her way forward and stared at Hendrickson. Meliodas' eyebrows went up a bit and he gave her a smile, but Elizabeth's resolve did not falter. "Tell him the truth, Estarossa!"

Estarossa crossed his arms. "I told them everything, Elizabeth. You are innocent in this, don't put yourself at risk for _him_."

Elizabeth drew in a breath and said, "I'm so sad. You were so nice when we met, so gentle and so kind to me. What happened to you? When did you change?" Estarossa's mouth dropped open in surprise, and Elizabeth felt a single tear fall down her cheek. "You are hurting people, betraying your own brother, spreading lies… what is it that would make you do all these things?"

He jerked back a bit, and then looked around, his expression clearly uncomfortable. When he didn't answer, Elizabeth said sternly, "I won't let you hurt anyone anymore!"

The crowd started cheering, both employees and even guests that had stopped to watch the commotion. Estarossa growled at her, tilting his chin down and narrowing his eyes; but when Elizabeth refused to back down from his stare, he turned and pushed his way through the group, storming off. She saw Escanor give a little signal to Ban, and then he turned and followed him, disappearing into the park.

"None of that matters anyway," Hendrickson said, and Elizabeth turned her attention back to him. "Even if Meliodas' version of events is true, he still broke into the park when he wasn't supposed to. He even took _the wrong tunnel_." Hendrickson drew himself up and yanked on Meliodas arm, as if to offer him as proof. "Those are fireable offenses, young lady."

"Oh come off it, Hendrickson," Ban snorted, stepping forward. "Like no one ever breaks the rules."

"Ba-aaan," Meliodas said in a joking, warning tone, but Ban snorted. "Does this hairstyle of mine look like it's Disney-approved?" he laughed. Then he lifted the hem of his polo shirt and showed off a tattoo in the shape of a fox. "And I got a tattoo while I was here too."

"But those are only minor-" Hendrickson began, but then another employee cut him off. "I was in the Mickey suit the other day and some kid was kicking me, so I told him Mickey was going to die," he called out.

"What?" Hendrickson gaped, and then another called out, "I shut down the Dumbo when some kid is being bratty!" A few of the employees laughed, also announcing that they too stop rides just to annoy guest members.

Hendrickson was frowning by then, and again tried to interject, but then Helbram shouted, "You do realize that there's vodka in the refrigerator in the employee canteen, right?" Everyone erupted in laughter, and then more confessions came:

"I peed in Ariel's Grotto!"

"I tell people 'I don't know' all the time!"

"I got three autographs from celebrities last week!"

"Anyone else have sex on Pirates of the Caribbean?" Diane shouted. Elizabeth looked over in surprise at her friend, and stifled a laugh when King went bright red next to her. "You weren't supposed to tell anyone!" he hissed, but at least half of the employees cheered their agreement.

"Enough!" Hendrickson sputtered. "You are all on very thin ice here!"

Then Mr. Pendragon stepped forward, putting a hand up. "I've heard enough," he said, and turned to Hendrickson. "You obviously have no control over this park, or these employees. Your security is a joke." Hendrickson let go of Meliodas and began to offer an excuse, but he just shook his head. "That'll be all. You're fired."

Elizabeth gasped as the employees cheered, jeering at Hendrickson who screwed up his face in rage. When he turned and stomped off, she looked at Meliodas, who was gazing back at her with a huge grin. He walked towards her, slipping his arms around her waist, and said, "Thank you. But you really didn't have to do all that."

"I-I didn't-" she stuttered, still amazed, but then his hand slipped lower to squeeze her backside, and she yelped. Meliodas chuckled, but before she could say something, they were interrupted again.

"You are Elizabeth, correct?" She turned to see Arthur Pendragon looking at her, and Elizabeth sucked in a breath, standing up a bit straighter.

"Yes, Sir!" she answered. "I don't know if you remember me, but my father-"

"I know who you are," he said seriously, and Elizabeth's eyes flickered up to Merlin who was standing next to him. She wore the same mysterious smile, but gave Elizabeth a wink, so she continued, "I'm sorry for all of this. But I had to do something. Meliodas, he… he didn't do anything wrong."

Mr. Pendragon chuckled, shaking his head. "Yes, he had some very good reasons. But there are _some_ sins that must be answered for." He smiled at Meliodas then and said, "I'm very sorry young man, but I am going to have to fire you."

"What? No!" Elizabeth cried, but Meliodas just shrugged. "Yeah, I figured as much. It's fine," he answered, rubbing one hand through the back of his hair.

Laughing again, Mr. Pendragon said, "Come to my office on Monday morning. I'm in need of some new employees in security, and there have been some recent openings." Then he turned and called out, "Okay everyone, now back to work!"

He started towards the park entrance, Merlin following, and the employees began to call their goodbyes and heading back inside the park. But Elizabeth looked at Meliodas sadly. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I should have never dragged you into this."

"Don't be silly!" he laughed, squeezing her tightly. "You were my reason for working this job anyway. If you disappeared from this place, I'd have no reason to work here."

Elizabeth laughed, sliding her arms around his neck; then she kissed him, giggling against his mouth as his hands pressed against her back, pulling her closer.


	21. Epilogue: The Princess and the Knight

**Epilogue: The Princess and the Knight**

Things seemed to change around the park after that. Employees started mingling more, meeting up after shifts or at meal breaks, talking and laughing together on the shuttles, and it became much less unusual to see someone from one section of the park hanging out in another. But the relaxed atmosphere did great things for the morale. Elizabeth was pleased to be meeting lots of new people, and it seemed like _everyone_ knew who she was. So when she had heard that there was going to be an unofficial cast party at a tavern in town called the Boar Hat, she knew that the place would be filled to the brim.

She worked double shifts the next two days after Meliodas had gotten fired, so they had only a bit of time to talk, and only saw each other for a brief slice of pizza when he surprised her one night. Then, when he went for his meeting with Arthur Pendragon, it took so long that her shift started by the time it was done. On her break she called him and he told her he'd fill her in later. "Will you come early?" he asked. "I'm getting ready for this party tonight."

"Of course," she answered, assuring him she would be there a couple of hours ahead of time. Diane had taken the day off, and the two primped once Elizabeth was done her shift and headed to the tavern together. When they arrived, Elaine and Ban were already there, hanging up Disney-themed decorations and squabbling, but Elizabeth hurried behind the bar to give Meliodas a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Tell me everything!" she insisted.

Meliodas gave one of his usual shrugs, but his eyes were shining in excitement. "Mr. Pendragon wants me to work for him directly! He said since I know all the ins and outs of the park, then I can help him find the holes in their system and help tighten up security." Then Meliodas grinned and went on, "He's even going to let me pull some people in with me. Ban's gonna do it, and Escanor, and when Diane's boyfriend King is done his contract, I'm gonna hire him too."

"What? That's amazing!" Elizabeth squealed, giving him another squeeze. "I'm so proud of you."

"Yeah, but I don't know," he said lazily, pulling out of her embrace to lean against the bar. "It would mean working less shifts here… and how could I give up all this?" Meliodas gestured around the room, and Elizabeth giggled.

"You better not," Diane snapped, coming over to the bar. "King needs this job, and I want to work for you too when I'm done in a month."

Meliodas shrugged. "Why not? Arthur said I could hire six more people. Seven of us sounded like a good enough number to me."

"What about you, Elizabeth?" Diane asked. "You've got what, two months left? You could stay and work here."

Elizabeth bit her lip, suddenly nervous. "I'm not sure if my father would approve of that."

Diane seemed to sense her sudden discomfort, because she quickly reassured her that everything would be fine. Elizabeth nodded, and they went back to preparing for the party; but she could not shake the nagging feeling from Diane's question. Her father wanted her to go back to school, and she knew that she probably should… but how could she leave Meliodas, now that they were together?

Soon the employees began to arrive, then more, then _more_ , until the Boar Hat was stuffed to the brim with people. The drinks were flowing, Ban was cooking up a storm, and music was playing in every corner of the room. It was a real party, and Elaine and Diane once more helped Elizabeth out with serving everyone. Even Gowther showed up and joined in, excitedly tying on a tavern apron. "I never did this before," he said to Elizabeth, who assured him he looked quite nice as a server.

Things started to clear out a bit after midnight, and by one in the morning only a few dozen people were left. Gilthunder and Howzer were still drinking with no signs of stopping, joking with Diane about the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, who had an arm around a blushing King. Elaine and Ban were dancing, while Gowther helped Elizabeth clear tables. When she returned to the sink behind the bar, she found Meliodas there talking with Merlin and Escanor.

"Slader's been waiting to join your team for a while," Meliodas was saying, but Merlin shrugged. "Actually," she replied, "when Escanor told me about _your_ new project, I suggested to Arthur that I join along too." Meliodas' brows went up in surprise and she chuckled. "Looks like I'll be staying with you for a bit longer."

"Great," Meliodas said, but the little strain in his voice made Elizabeth giggle; Merlin and Escanor wished them goodnight, and then headed out the door together.

"Are they…?" Elizabeth asked, but he just shrugged. "Who knows," Meliodas laughed.

Finally the place emptied, and Ban and Gilthunder propped up a very inebriated Howzer, who was singing "My Heart Will Go On" at the top of his lungs. Elaine followed with a wave to them all, and then Diane said goodbye to Elizabeth. "I guess you'll be home eventually?" she giggled, giving Elizabeth a sly look.

"Stay away from Pirates, huh?" Meliodas called over, and with a huff King dragged her away and out the door.

Now that they were finally alone, Meliodas wasted no time in grabbing up Elizabeth and planting her on a stool, his arms going around her hips as he kissed her. She sighed into his mouth as her hands went to his blonde hair, running through the strands as their mouths moved slowly together.

He squeezed her closer, breaking the kiss to feather her neck with little pecks with his lips. "You know," he said against her skin, "you _could_ work for me too. I still have one spot open."

Elizabeth sighed, shivering a bit as he kissed her throat. "I don't think it's for me. I'm not like the rest of you."

"You have a good heart, and that's all you really need," he told her. She turned her head towards him, giving him a smile as she stroked the back of his neck. "But I'm sure Arthur has lots of jobs he could recommend you for."

"I should finish school though," she said sadly. "And I want to… but that means leaving here… leaving you."

Meliodas shook his head. "There are schools down here. We'll figure it out. We have two more months anyway. No matter what happens, we'll be together."

Elizabeth kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

His hands moved around her, pulling her right up against him, and Elizabeth's arms went around his shoulders. Meliodas offered her a smile and said, "Besides, what would I do without my top waitress?"

"I thought I was a goddess and you were a demon?" she giggled, kissing the corner of his mouth.

"Hmmm," he answered. "You're a princess too, don't forget. I guess that makes me your knight."

"That's perfect," Elizabeth replied. "I guess then I'll start calling you _Sir_ Meliodas."

He grinned broadly, pulling her into another sweet kiss. She tilted her head, kissing him back, and knew that no matter what happened in the future, right now she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

* * *

 **A/N:** The endings of stories are so very bittersweet! I loved writing this fic, and I truly hope you all loved reading it. Will there be a sequel? Who knows? I guess that depends on where Cerulean Grace ends up next...

I must thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for all the reviews, faves, and the PMs from this story. It's been so wonderful hearing from all of you, and a delight to meet some new people! Thanks you, thank you, _thank you_ for all of your encouragement and support.

Once more I must acknowledge two very important people, without whom this story would not have been possible. Cerulean Grace, you are an inspiration in more ways than you can imagine, and I really value our friendship. Vetur02, your comments and screams breathed life into this fic, and I would have never finished it without you; thank you also for the amazing cover art and the beautiful illustrations you did of Meliodas and Elizabeth hiding in Cinderella's castle (if you missed her work, please check out her Tumblr or Twitter page).

This is not the last from me, however! I have two, yes _two_ new fics I will begin publishing next week. Check my profile for updates on the schedule in the upcoming days. Also be sure to look out for a little oneshot that I will be sharing within the next day or so.

Thank you again to everyone for reading!


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